Honor thy Father
by DaesGatling
Summary: What if Gold was the one that raised Emma? And what if Regina was slightly affected by the curse so that she didn't realized the daughter that Mr. Gold adopted as his own was the savior and right in front of her nose ? AU. Avatar Credit: abbas-ragamuffin
1. Chapter 1

She came to him one night in autumn, she kept her hood over her face to conceal it but he knew immediately that it was her. No one else was allowed down here with the exception of the guards. They didn't even allow those that were desperate to see him in. They believed that since he no longer had his power, he no longer could provide those that wished to see him with what they wanted.

Fools.

Even more foolish were Charming and Snow White for forbidding anyone access here and yet they came themselves. Cloaked in robes and hiding in the shadows. Did they really think he wouldn't know who they were? The guards that watched him would be exiled if they accepted a bribe from the higher class. Royalty was the only ones he knew of that would be able to see him.

So when she returned a month later, he automatically knew who she was. She still kept the silly cloak over her face and clothes but he supposed that was for those that were outside the cage. Since her beloved king was not with her, she obviously did not want him to know that she was here. Nor did any guards accompany her, which meant she'd demanded they let her alone

Which means she was desperate enough to put herself completely at his advantage.

"Snow White," he gave an exaggerated bow, one of his outstretched arms brushed against the cavern wall, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She pulled off her hood. She was a lot paler than when he'd last seen her, she looked thinner around her face too.

And he could be mistaken, but she was trembling. Now that was new. He hadn't known her to show outward fear of him before but he knew from experience that when faced with danger of their child, a parent showed more emotions.

However, regardless of her fear, she walked up to the cage as far as she dared get without him grabbing her. It almost insulted him that she still maintained her distance. After everything he'd done for her…

"What is this world that they're sending us to like?" she demanded.

A smile crossed his lips and she paled even more. He hadn't known that they found a portal this quickly. The guards spoke in whispers sometimes but they never told him anything of value. It looked like the Rhuel Ghorim WAS good for things other than removing a parent from their child.

"It is a land without magic," he told her.

She looked at him in confusion. Her naïve mind tried to process what he'd just told her, "What kind of a land is one without magic?"

One where his son dwelt.

Instead he shrugged as if it was no big deal. To be honest he didn't understand it either and he'd spent centuries trying to figure it out, "This one is."

Her hands went to her stomach as if to protect it and when she realized it drew his eyes as well she reluctantly removed them, "Can we survive there?"

"I wouldn't see why not," he told her honestly, "You're adaptable. You went from a princess to a thief to a queen. While it's not easy, living with nothing shouldn't be unfamiliar to you."

She looked down and swallowed, "And what if…when we get there, I won't know where to look?"

"I'll find you," he told her.

"You'll be trapped with the rest of them," she whispered.

"You forget whom you speak to," he told her harshly. If she wanted to hear what he knew then she'd best not forget who she was dealing with. It was disrespectful and he felt his temper flare, "Do you not think that since I know what Regina is doing that I wouldn't have a plan set in place so that I was not a complete prisoner as the rest of them?"

She cringed and took a step back.

"I will find you," he told her, "And I will have the power and resources to take care of you and that child until the time comes for her to return. But I won't be taking care of you without a price. You are to do exactly as I say-."

Snow White winced and pressed her hands against her back.

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

"It's just some pain," she said, "I'm fine."

Rumpelstiltskin grabbed the bars and pushed his face against them as if he were observing her, "A sharp shooting pain in your lower back? Are they consistent?"

She looked up, "What do you mean?"

He smiled, a new plan formed in his mind to replace the old one, "You might be having your baby, dearie."

She drew in a sharp breath, he didn't know from pain or fear, "It's too early."

"That's never stopped a baby from being born before," he told her.

Much to his annoyance, she started crying. This was proving to be more tiresome than when Bae's mother carried him and her emotions could change at the slightest provocation.

"The wardrobe can only carry one," she said, "It's not ready yet."

"Then it looks like you won't have to worry about whether or not you can survive in that world dearie, if you have her here then you'll be trapped in the curse the same as everyone else."

She watched him; her bluish gray eyes met his snake ones. The fear that she was sending her child to a world that she didn't completely understand herself came over her and tears fell down her face, "She can't survive out there by herself. She's just a baby."

He didn't know why she was telling him this. She didn't trust him; he could see that in her eyes. Perhaps it was because he was the only one here. Or more likely, just like with everyone else he had in his control, she expected him to fix it.

If it was the latter, he had her right where he wished her to be.

"I could find your daughter," He told her, "But it would cost you."

Snow White looked like she aged about ten years when he said that, "What do you want?"

He went in for the kill immediately, "You will allow the child to be mine."

Snow White's face hardened, "No."

"I give you my assurances that she will be protected."

"Will she be loved?"

He blinked, "What do you think I am dearie? A monster?"

Snow White closed her eyes and he saw her shame as he knew she was considering it, "Will she be loved?"

_Do animals not raise and love children as their own all the time? _"Yes."

Snow let out a small breath that she didn't realize she was holding, "Regina would know."

"Regina doesn't know anything else I tell it to her, dearie," he said, his voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. He didn't tell her that he'd planned for this. He knew that she'd carry a child before this curse was cast and he'd made plans. Just in case something like this would happen. This curse was full of plans for contingencies that these people would have thought out and some they probably didn't.

Snow met his eyes again, "It's my baby."

"And you're about to send her out into a very frightening world that not even you understand," he taunted in his high pitched singsong voice. Just in case she was getting too comfortable, "Look at it this way dearie. It'll be 28 years before you see your child again if you say no. If you say, 'yes' and acknowledge that for all intents and purposes that she will be my daughter to raise and train…then you can watch her grow up. She'd be safer with me."

"What's stopping you from just taking her?" Snow demanded.

"Nothing," He told her. He'd made plans for that too, "But I don't want your husband or yourself to come knocking at my door with one hand while there's a dagger waiting in the other when the curse is broken. I'd rather all the anger be directed toward Regina. Besides, as I've worked so hard getting the two of you where you are…it'd be a shame if I resorted to something horrible to save my own life." "

"I'll have to talk to Charming."

"You'd need to, wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

"Too bad," he said, "This is a onetime offer, dearie. I can't have you being talked out of it."

"But-."

"You want me to protect her?" he asked, "That's the deal and that's the price."

"And how will I know that you won't find some way to get more out of this deal than what you have to pay?" She demanded, "Last I recall you took my ability to love after I asked you to take my memories of Charming-."

"And look where it got you." He gestured to the room around him, "You're a queen now and married to your one true love because of me. Isn't that enough to put trust in our relationship?"

He didn't like her silence for an answer.

"You can always have more children," he told here, "And I'm sure Emma will return to you one day in need of her mother but your child will grow up not knowing the love of a parent if you say no. Could you really put her through that just because you don't want to give her to me?"

Snow White drew in her breath and tears sprang anew. He really wished that he'd done this when her body and emotions weren't affected by pregnancy.

"Will you let us see her over there?"

"If you wish," he told her. He knew what it was like to be separated from a child and while he didn't know just how much Snow's feelings for her daughter would carry over to the other side, he wouldn't demand that she stay away from the child. He did want Emma to grow up somewhat healthy.

Snow closed her eyes and she looked to be ill, "Deal."

He grinned, "You just made a good choice."

She averted her gaze, turned, and left the prison quarters.

The guards didn't understand why he spent the next day cackling with glee.


	2. Chapter 2

Rent day was a mixed blessing for Mr. Gold. It meant that he got to exert his power over everyone and remind them where they stood in the pecking order of things, but it also meant that to get the rent he had to TALK to them.

He'd much rather just spend the day in his pawn shop. No one ever came in there unless it was to beg for a reprieve and usually their desperation made for a better day. He could usually handle one or two people; it was just the town as a whole that he couldn't stand. If they didn't like the rent prices then he would hate to see how they would react in the outside world where his mercy and leniency weren't there. He didn't think he asked too much. Gas was 15 cents here and the bread was a quarter. Upping the rent was reasonable in his eyes, what else would they spend money on? Material goods? He had plenty of material goods, and all it did was clutter up his house and make for more dusting. He was doing them a favor. If they complained then he could easily double the rent and give them something to complain about.

He made himself a sandwich for later and turned on the TV in the living room as he prepared for his day.

Perhaps he would stop by the mayor's house first. Nothing more like making her miserable to brighten up his day. He couldn't stand that cold hearted cow. She thought she held cards that he didn't know about and that somehow she had power.

Well, she didn't hold the cards, he knew everything thanks to his little spies and she needed to learn her place in this town. Unfortunately for her, it was far beneath him. Just like everyone else. Oh, wouldn't that get her angry? To know that she was no better or no worse than everyone in this town from the John Doe in the hospital bed to that saccharine sweet teacher that lived in an apartment that she could barely afford.

Maybe he would stop at the teacher's house. Ms. Blanchard's pure innocent outlook on life amused him and for some reason he genuinely liked her. He didn't understand it and he hoped it wasn't some sort of fancy. She was half his age and he normally didn't like women with hair shorter than his.

He was starting to leer at this age already. Wonderful. He was hoping that he'd skipped his midlife crisis altogether.

He turned the dial to the early morning news and waited to hear how the world was getting worse today. None of it reached Storybrooke, it never did but he liked to be informed. He liked to know everything. It gave him an edge. Why? He didn't know. It wasn't as if anyone else watched the news here and even if they did, he didn't talk to them about it.

It was just something he liked to do.

_"The search for the parents of the newborn girl found on the side of the road…_"

Oh this again. The townspeople had talked about it and he ignored them. They'd tried to ask his opinion when they came into his shop but he brushed past them. He had no interest in something that he couldn't change. Parents left her on the side of the road. Give her a home and let her be. IF they hadn't found the parents yet then he doubted they would. Why waste good money bothering?

_If anyone has any information on baby Emma-_

The comb that he was using for his hair dropped from his hand and clattered on the hardwood floor.

Memories came flooding. Memories of being Rumpelstiltskin. Memories of Baelfire and the curse. Memories of targeting Snow White and Charming to bear the savior

And memories of Emma.

"Emma," he mused and walked to his phone. Rent could wait a few hours. He needed to get his hands on that baby before any other well-meaning families got her. His Mr. Gold had connections for procuring children if need be. Of course he never had but his false memories had taught him how to do it here. And if the curse worked then the people he would contact would have false memories of him as well. Giving false memories to the outside world was dangerous and unpredictable and so he had to only give a couple of memories to some people. When the curse was broken the memory would just disappear and they'd continue their lives.

But it was worth it if he could get his hands on Emma.

"What a lovely name," he said and put the receiver to his ear.


	3. Chapter 3

One week and many bribes later, Gold stood waiting outside on his porch for the social worker.

Sixteen families had been considered. Gold had given half his fortune to get ahold of Emma but it was hardly a sacrifice for him. It would be replenished in no time and he had 28 years and a curse to make sure that he stayed wealthy.

Now that he stood on the porch that evening, he wasn't sure if he could do this. Bae had grown up to be a decent boy so maybe he did something right. However that was before the curse had warped his mind and turned him into a monster. Bae also wasn't as important to their world as Emma was. What if he turned her to be just as twisted as him?

He couldn't let her get close to him, that's all there was to that. Snow White was her mother, Charming was her father. He would just raise her to do her duty and prepare her for 28 years into the future when Regina realized that the sweet girl that Mr. Gold had taken in was exactly the person that Regina was no doubt searching the world for.

He straightened up as the unfamiliar car drove up the street and stopped in front of his house. The memories that "Mr. Gold" had given him had allowed him to know who lived where and what they drove. This car was a newer model, one that he hadn't seen yet.

So instead of magic, technology was what advanced in this world. Fascinating. He was certainly glad that it was Emma that had to be put through the wardrobe alone because he was certain that Snow White would not have known how to survive.

The car door opened and he watched a stern looking woman in a pantsuit climb out with a man. Wordlessly she moved to the back of the car and lifted the little bundle out.

His heart started racing. Their savior was in that baby blanket.

What if there was a mix up and he had been given the wrong child? That had happened before several times in this world. Technology advanced but common sense didn't. He supposed some things never changed from world to world.

"Are you Mr. Gold?" the man asked and came up to him.

"Yes," he said and looked at the woman. She knew who he was; he'd given most of her his money to secure the baby for him.

The man looked at his house in distaste, "Awful big for just you."

"My estate is the town and the land surrounding it," he said and gave a smile, "I've paid a lot of money and wasted a lot of time on the phone to secure this. Can we just get it done?"

"Is that what it took to get the roadside baby this quickly?" He scoffed, "Adoptions legally take forever."

"Well, then I suppose I'll just consider myself above the law and you can consider the child in better hands that most of the other families that you were considering."

The woman walked up the stairs to him and handed him the bundle, "Support her head."

"I have handled babies before," he almost snapped and gave a sigh of relief when the savior was finally sleeping safely in his arms.

Well part of the worst was over.

"Sir, meet your new daughter," the woman said, "Emma Gold."

0000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000 000000000

Rumpelstiltskin didn't know what to do. Emma was only a week old so she slept constantly. She woke before he went to sleep and he fed her and put her in the crib upstairs.

Now that she was in his house, he wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to do this. This was the savior. How was he supposed to teach her that? He wasn't good, he wasn't pure, he was a monster and he accepted that over the centuries. How did he raise a child around that?

He looked human now sure, and he had some of his humanity back but the monster inside him was still alive and well too. How did an evil monster raise a savior?

It was those fears that he went to sleep with. What was she going to think of him when she found out about the deal he'd made with her mother? What would she think of her mother who loved her enough to sell her to a man that was too scared to love her as a father should because there was a better man that fathered her and wasn't a coward?

She would grow to hate him when she realized what he was. Just like Bae no doubt did now.

It was two in the morning when Emma's cries woke him up. HE lifted his head off the pillow and then collapsed and groaned. He'd forgotten about this. At least with Bae, he never had to worry. IT was his wife that could feed their son. He could wake up and hold her hand as she dragged herself out of bed but when it all came down to it she was the one that got up three times a night to feed their baby. There was nothing that he could do.

But here he was in a different world with no wife and a child that wasn't even his.

He rolled over and pulled on his shirt. Maybe he should have waited to adopt Emma legally. She might've slept throughout the night then.

He kept her crib in his room so that he wouldn't have to walk far. His Gold memories told him that his leg would act up in the winter. And it was cold in Maine.

"Emma," he whispered and picked her up, "Sh. Sh. Sh."

He adjusted her so that he could support her with one arm and travel downstairs. Perhaps he could get a sort of smaller kitchen put upstairs so that he didn't have to worry about traveling upstairs and downstairs as much.

There was a room he didn't use and was bare. It was a possibility. HE would have to talk to Marco about it.

Emma ignored his attempts to comfort her and cried until he warmed up her bottle and fed her. He wished he could say that he passed the time bonding with the child but doubt gnawed at him as he stared into her bleary blue eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered when she was done and put her against his chest to soothe her to sleep. He wasn't sorry that he'd bartered and bribed for her. The safest place she could be right now was with him. HE was just sorry that he wouldn't be a good father to her.

Emma put her fist into her mouth and gave a sigh of contentment as she rested her head on his chest.

It was then that the weight of his situation hit him. He had dealt with several babies over the centuries. He had given his firstborn son; it was his asking price for most families if they didn't need what they were asking him for. Newborns were a good trade and it always reminded him of how much he hated humanity because of how easily some people gave their children up for riches or a man or woman they lusted after.

But he always made sure he had a buyer waiting for that child for one reason; after he was the dark one babies never liked him. They, like animals, could sense the evil that he brought with him. Babies screamed whenever he got close and so he was always sure to give them away hours after he acquired them.

But not Emma. Perhaps it was because the evil was a bit more suppressed or because she was the savior. He didn't know why, and he shouldn't think like this because she as only a week old. However, children had a way of sensing these things. So to have her resting comfortably on his chest meant that even though she was far too young to know what was going on, she trusted him to feed and take care of her.

It may have been stupid, or an act of desperation to ease the loneliness he'd felt all those years and the years he knew he faced…

…but her first night with him, he decided for now he would ignore Charming and Snow as her parents.

He was her father.


	4. Chapter 4

It was a lovely day so Rumpelstiltskin moved the bassinet out on the porch so that he could enjoy the weather and watch over his daughter at the same time.

_His _daughter. IT was still an odd thought even though she'd been his for a week now. He thought he'd get used to it but he hadn't. She was content with him but she would grow to hate him just like Bae did.

But he would enjoy these moments while they lasted.

Emma opened her eyes and focused on him. HE smiled and brushed a knuckle down her cheek, "Hi Emma, did you sleep well?"

She yawned and gazed up at him. He slipped his finger in her palm and smiled again as her hand closed around it. He brought her fist to his lips and kissed it, "You're going to be growing so fast little one. It'll feel like you'll be walking before long. Well I Know that you have almost a year or so but it'll pass like...well like you're the only one in this town that can grow I suppose."

She watched him; he did have to admit he felt a bit silly talking to a child that wasn't old enough to understand what he was saying. HE still had a feeling she understood far more than the others in this town though.

He looked up when he heard tires screech and groaned when Regina climbed out of her overpriced mechanical wagon.

He frowned and put his hand on Emma protectively. The curse stated that she would be in a haze when it came to Emma and who she was; and his curses were always FLAWLESS. However, that didn't stop him from worrying that something could go wrong. Regina was almost as aware as he was. IT was a little too close for comfort for him but he'd made a deal that she could have her own happy ending.

And her happy ending was living without fear that the savior was in town with her.

It was sort of twisted thinking but it made sense when one thought about it.

"Mr. Gold, I'm here to talk about you raising my rent," she said and marched up to him. Oh, the arrogance that dripped off her. Did she honestly think that just because she was the only one in town stupid enough to approach him in public that he'd admire her?

"Inflation dear," He said and glanced down at the baby, "The prices of the world are rising and I need to make sure that I'm well taken care of."

"Oh for God's sake, what could you possibly need that you don't have?"

Emma started to fuss and Regina finally snapped out of her angry reverie to glance down at the bassinet. Rumpelstiltskin bristled as she leaned over and examined the child. Emma started screaming at the top of her lungs and RUmpelstiltskin made sure to mutter about how he'd just laid her down when he gathered her in his arms.

Good judge of character.

"When on Earth did you get _that,_" Regina demanded.

"Oh Madam Mayor, I've been looking to adopt for a while," he rubbed Emma's back to get her to calm down, "I've given…several families the chance to be happy by procuring children for them by lesser means than the tedious legality of adoption. I figured it was high time that I open my home up to one as well."

Regina narrowed her eyes as if she was studying him and he held her gaze. He was still Mr. Gold to her, not Rumpelstiltskin and if he forgot that then everything was over.

"If you raised my rent to pay for her…"

"I raised your rent because you live on my land and I can do whatever I wish," he told her simply, "If you do not appreciate that then you are free to live somewhere else."

He saw her muscles tighten but he continued to hold his gaze. One of his favorite parts of being the dark one was getting people to bend to his will by just a look.

She shook her head angrily, "Perhaps we can work something out."

"No," he said simply, "The rent is up, you will have to deal with it."

Regina called him something not fit for baby Emma's ears and turned on her heel and stormed off. He watched her leave with a smirk and rubbed Emma's back. She'd settled down at his voice.

He needed to keep Regina as far away from the little one as possible. Just in case.

"You want to go for a walk Emma?" he asked and stood. He walked down the stairs and placed her in the stroller that he kept in the shed.

"Let's go see your mother," he whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

Rumpelstiltskin had to admit that he felt…unnatural pushing a child's carriage while he walked down the street. Everyone stopped to gawk. He had closed up his shop for a week so that he could bond with the child so most of them hadn't seen her yet.

No one came close enough to see her though. He was really glad of that today of all days; he was dreading when they actually summoned the nerve.

"I don't' know how long it'll take for you to understand this, Emma. But your mother made a big sacrifice when she agreed to let me raise you. I'm guessing that Charming won't know…he's your father. Or at least the man that created you, I like to think that I'm your father since I'm the one raising you. Anyway, your mother didn't know what kind of a parent I'd be or how I'd treat you but she gave you to me anyway because she trusted that I would at least keep you safe. IT's a big world out there little one. Bigger than ours and I really couldn't stomach the idea if she let you out there all alone.

Emma just gave him a blank look.

"I realize of course that you have no idea what I'm talking about," he continued, "But I'm not going to sit here and give you baby talk because in my experience children are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. And if you're going to grow up to be our savior then I'd rather have you intelligent early. Besides, your parents may baby talk you but I imagine that would do wonders for ruining my reputation."

He stopped in front of Mary's apartment and lifted Emma out of the carriage. His leg was already killing him, the cold was worse here than in the realms.

He made it up the stairs and knocked on her door. She answered it and he took in her appearance. His Gold memories had told him that she had short hair and wore shapeless clothes as not to draw attention to herself. But still…looking at her now with his memories, it was shocking in its own little way. Long healthy hair was a symbol of beauty for their world; he supposed it would make sense for Regina to make sure that even that was taken from her.

"Ms. Blanchard," He greeted and tried to ignore the fearful look she shot him and then her careful examination of the child he was carrying, "Pardon the intrusion but there's something I would like to discuss with you."

_You wanted a relationship with your daughter, here she is. _

Snow White let him into her apartment. IT's not like she had a choice.

"Mr. Gold," she said and sat at the table with him, "I promise, my paycheck is coming, then I'll give you the rest of the money-."

"I'm actually here to give you an offer so we can call this even."

She paled, "What?"

_Oh, did everyone have a dirty mind here?" _

He gestured to the girl he carried in his arms, "This is Emma, my adopted daughter. And as you are probably well aware, due to my antisocial nature she will probably have no female influence if I do not take some action now."

"I don't…I don't understand."

"I need someone to watch Emma when I'm out working, it wouldn't be many times, just maybe the first Saturday of the Month."

"Rent Day," Mary finished.

"And maybe a Saturday here and there."

"Wh-why are you asking me to do this? Why me?"

"Because shockingly enough Ms. Blanchard, you're one of the few people I trust in this town to be a good influence on my child. But without a female influence, there's only so much I can do to make sure she grows up mentally and emotionally healthy. I…I'm not exactly the best at providing that I'm afraid."

Snow White looked up, "No…I'm sure you'd be a good father."

"Oh no doubt I'll prepare her for what she needs to be ready for. I imagine my idea of showing her the love she needs is far different than what you would imagine."

_But it's what you asked me to do. _

"I-I don't know…"

"If you do this then I'll forgive the rent you owe. I'll even give you a discount. I'm sure a teacher's salary can barely afford what I've set as rent."

"I was fine until you raised it," she muttered.

"Oh Ms. Blanchard, a man has to provide for his child, doesn't he?" He asked and held the baby out for her to take, "Do we have an arrangement?"

Snow reluctantly took the child and tucked her against her chest. Emma opened her eyes and the disturbance and when she saw her mother, broke out into a smile. Snow broke out into a beaming grin of her own and brushed a knuckle down the child's face, "Hi Emma."

Gold sat quietly and let his daughter bond with her mother. Emma was content with him, but she hadn't smiled yet. Now she was practically beaming at the mother that'd given her to him. He had made a deal with Snow to let her see her daughter as often as he chose. At the end of this, Snow couldn't say that he'd refused to follow through on his side of the deal to the best of his ability.

After an eternity, Mary cleared her throat and returned his daughter to him, "I'll do it."

"Wonderful," he said and stood up, "I expect I'll see you Saturday then."

He turned to leave and he was certain that he saw Mary hesitant to let him out. But she did and he made it to the bottom of the stairs.

And Emma started crying.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks to Emma's frequent attempts to keep him up as long as possible at night, Rumpelstiltskin kept a couch in the back of his office so he could catch a nap whenever possible.

It'd been six months since he claimed Emma as his own. He'd been hoping that she'd sleep throughout the night now but there was something different about her cries that stirred him out of his sleep.

If he didn't know any better than he would think that she was having nightmares from what little she'd seen in the Enchanted Forest. But that was impossible, she was just born, there was no way she could remember or comprehend that.

But she was a baby made out of true love; sometimes the rules were different with those babies as opposed to normal ones.

It was always different every night, sometimes she could be settled down when he got her attention with the unicorn mobile that her parents had had made for her and had ended up in his pawn shop. Other times, she was only content if he was holding her. Another reason he suspected it was nightmares was because he could feel her shaking as he soothed her back to sleep. When it was a bad night, the only way she'd fall asleep was if she was lying on his chest

But last night was one of the good nights; he was in a semi-good mood as he worked. Emma practiced rolling around and giggling on the floor next to him. Many times he had to stop what he was doing and place her back in the middle of the blanket but it wasn't irritating. Sometimes the most relaxing thing in the world was listening to his daughter laugh.

Emma rolled on her back and started babbling to either herself or to him. She reached out for his cane but he grabbed it to keep it from falling on her. She was such a curious thing. He was going to hate it when she started crawling and then walking. Keeping her out of things in the shop was going to be miserable.

He picked her up kissed her cheek. Her eyes had turned from blue to green and she was starting to get wisps of blonde hair in. She was going to be a heart breaker and he wondered if he was going to have to lock her up. Maybe the men in this town would be uneasy to date her because they'd seen her grow up.

He hoped it was the latter; biologically she would be the same age as they would be but it was still unsettling.

The door opened and he looked up. One of Regina's old toys walked through, the one that could traverse worlds with a spin of a hat. Rumpelstiltskin hadn't cared for him. He couldn't use him because all the worlds that Jefferson could connect to had magic in them. What use was that? And none of those worlds connected to any land without magic because usually the thought was that you needed magic to get there unless it was a curse that would destroy the land you were coming to and force them here.

Rumpelstiltskin hadn't heard much about him after he left Regina's services with a toddling baby in tow. If he'd cared, then he supposed he could've wondered what happened to him.

Mr. Gold didn't have any memories of him, so he kept his face blank, "What can I do for you?"

Jefferson stopped and scowled, "Are we really going to play that game?"

Oh good, he remembered…well that was a relief because playing the Storybrooke game got tedious.

"What are you doing here, boy?" he demanded and took a guarded position.

Emma gurgled and he saw Jefferson's gaze soften at the sight of her. Rumpelstiltskin felt a wave of paternal instinct take over and he tightened his grip slightly. It wasn't enough to hurt Emma, not that she would've noticed. She was over there flirting with Jefferson.

Jefferson watched her, "She's important isn't she?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I procured her in a contract in case someone wanted a child that-."

"Two weeks after we arrived?" Jefferson demanded, "You wouldn't have done that unless she was important and according to your reputation, you don't bother with children unless you think they're going to benefit you somehow. IF you wanted to give her away then you would've done it by now since we're all stuck in this limbo, so you think she's important. Or rather…you _know _she's important."

Rumpelstiltskin stared him down. He was certain he was sending him all kinds of messages about what he'd do if Jefferson got anywhere near his girl.

Jefferson was satisfied that Rumpelstiltskin's silence was his answer, "Is she going to save us?"

"One day," He answered honestly, "Not anytime soon though obviously."

"Does Regina know?"

"Not if anyone doesn't tell her," he said. He didn't know if Regina would believe Jefferson though. He hadn't counted on anyone remembering besides Regina and himself once he heard Emma's name, but he'd made a contingency just in case.

However even if Regina didn't believe him, there was a part of her that might come after Emma just in case…

The thought angered him and he looked at Jefferson, who stood there silently. He couldn't trust Jefferson…gods knew what he'd do if he thought he'd get his happy ending. He was too much a wild card for Rumpelstiltskin's taste, "Get out."

"You were always Regina's greatest enemy," Jefferson said, "Not Snow White and not Charming. Do you honestly think she's going to be safe here with you? Regina's watching you. Just waiting for you to make a mistake. How long do you think you'll last raising a savior-?"

"And the alternative is to give her to you?" he mocked, "I said get out. And when you do, you better stay away from my daughter or I'll…"

"Or what?" Jefferson mocked, "You'll kill me? It's already been tried and it didn't work."

"What are you talking about?" Rumpelstiltskin demanded.

"Besides," Jefferson continued and his eyes went dead, as if there were no life or joy in them anymore, "She's already taken everything I ever cared about from me. What more could you hope to do?"

He turned and left. Rumpelstiltskin waited until he was gone before he looked down at his daughter who had grown quiet.

"It's alright Emma," he whispered, "If anyone tries to hurt you then they'll have me to contend with."

And he'd do something far worse than killing them. He'd make them suffer.


	7. Chapter 7

Rumpelstiltskin loved these winter nights. The silence of the house, the warm fire in the hearth, his daughter sleeping on his chest. He lay on the couch and tried to remember when he felt this content but as the Dark One, he could barely feel or be affected by heat or cold and he was _never _content. There was always a deal to be made, there was always an example to be set, there was always a goal to meet.

He was stuck here for the next 27 years, four months, and three weeks. He might as well get comfortable.

Emma had recently discovered gravity and she'd also discovered the phone. While she pretended to talk on the receiver she kept trying to drop the Mickey Mouse toy on its annoyingly cute face.

On the rare chance that she broke something she'd gotten ahold of, she giggled and clapped her hands.

And Gold hated having to slap her hand lightly and tell her no because with the way she screamed, one would think he was murdering her. And the look of betrayal in her eyes always twisted his insides up. IT was miserable not saying he was sorry because he knew that Emma had to learn.

So much for his rule of not getting too close.

For the past two months he had kept a close eye on Emma. He didn't trust Jefferson and worried that he might take off with her.

Or hand her over to Regina.

In fact, he gave Mary Margaret strict instructions that she was not to give the child to anyone else to hold either and that included people that she trusted. He hoped that she would follow through. Otherwise he would raise her rent so high that she couldn't pay it and then evict her. This was the savior they were dealing with and the last thing he needed was to see his daughter end up in the wrong hands.

He looked around the living room. Emma was learning to stand and she was an expert at crawling towards any little thing that got her attention. He had set up his shop as best he could but he still needed to keep a sharp eye on her. She always liked the dangerous stuff as opposed to the little corner he'd set her toys in.

Most days if someone came in, he usually just balanced Emma on his hip so that she couldn't get into trouble without him seeing. Unfortunately, balancing a child also made him look entirely unintimidating. People thought they could come in and appeal to his softer side while he held her and all he usually did was refuse and excuse himself to feed her.

HE needed to proof the house a bit better as well. He'd built her a bit of a pen so she wouldn't wonder into everything but she kept finding ways out of it.

A clever toddler always was the bane of their parent's existence.

Emma stirred on his chest while he lounged on his couch and she gave a yawn. He sat up and pulled her in his lap, "Hello Emma, did you sleep well?"

No nightmares, which was a good thing.

Emma smiled when she saw him. She tried to reach up for his hair but he pulled it out of her reach. When he started taking off his tie around her, she'd resorted to tugging his hair to get his attention. It was another thing that resulted in him spanking her hand lightly and earsplitting screams.

He didn't remember Bae being this impossible.

Now there was a thought, did he call Bae her brother? He refused to call either Mary Margaret or the John Doe in the hospital that he took Emma to see occasionally her parents. By all accounts he believed that since they gave him up to him, he was her father and Snow White gave up any claim she had to call herself her mother. The reasoning for Emma to be safe was irrelevant.

But maybe that was selfish; maybe he only thought that way because Emma was someone that he felt should be completely his while he raised her.

So, did that make Bae her brother? Probably. Until Emma decided for herself then he would call him her brother and he would tell her stories about them and about her family and everything that ever happened in the fairy tale realm.

He would prepare her.

And when the time came, and he was certain that she would understand he would tell her the truth.


	8. Chapter 8

When Emma was 11 months old, she learned to walk.

IT was late in the evening when she learned. She should've been in bed but Emma had taken a long nap that afternoon. Mary Margaret had apparently been grading papers and had lost track of the time and so now he had to entertain his daughter while trying to get her to go to sleep.

He had his day off tomorrow but that was beside the point. He was rather hoping to take Emma to the cabin in the woods but if he wasn't feeling up for it, then they weren't going.

She'd been standing for the last month and a half and she'd figured out how to maneuver her way around furniture but she'd yet to walk by herself. Sometimes Rumpelstiltskin had to stand still because Emma liked using his cane for something to hold onto while she stood next to him.

About eleven thirty he finally got tired of entertaining Emma on his own and placed her on the floor to play. He figured maybe she'd get tired if he pretended he was ignoring her. She hadn't seen him all day; perhaps his presence was what was exciting her.

He sat in his favorite chair and pulled out some book by James Patterson that someone had sold him. IT was a guilty pleasure of his, he liked Alex Cross and this 'forensic psychology' thing was certainly fascinating for him as he hadn't seen it before in the Realms. Well sure 'Mr. Gold' was familiar with it a little but the wonders of this world never stopped being fascinating for Rumpelstiltskin. Imagine what he could do with his powers and this technology and knowledge…

He heard Emma standing and thought nothing of it, but he still watched her out of the corner of her eyes. If he didn't watch her, she got in trouble faster than her biological father. One time he'd set her up to roll around on a blanket in the yard, he turned his back for a second to grudgingly wave at Jiminy Cricket and Emma had rolled herself right into the street.

And that wasn't the worst of it now; everything she touched had to be tested by putting it in her mouth first. He thought he was going to have to lock her up when she started dating, but he was worried he was going to have to do it now and she wasn't even a year old yet!

As it got close to midnight, he continued trying to ignore her but he was getting tired. Unlike Emma, who got a nap, he had gone around collecting rent and when he got back Emma had been awake and hyper for a child of her age.

And then as it got close to 11:55, he saw her take a few steps out of the corner of his eye. He immediately lowered the book and witnessed her teetering without any thing to hold onto.

He put the book down so he wouldn't startle her and bent down on the floor with his arms outstretched. He'd been working with her since she started standing but seeing his work come to fruition now…

"Emma, come to daddy."

She let out a happy ear piercing squeal and didn't so much walk as she did stumble towards him.

She got about halfway to him before she tripped and landed face first on the floor.

He quickly scooped her up and hugged her as pride swelled in his chest and he whispered comfort to her and then told her how proud he was of her over and over again. His daughter had walked, it was a small milestone compared to what she would have to do when she got older but for the here and now she had walked.

He had to tell someone. He wasn't going to sleep after this anyway.

He grabbed the phone and set Emma back down. She was starting to get heavy and he'd placed her against his bad hip.

"_Hello?" _he heard the tired reply.

"Yes, hello Mary Margaret," he said and realized how silly this was probably going to sound, "Sorry to inconvenience you like this but-."

"_Is something wrong?" _he heard the panic in her voice, "_Emma-."_

"She's alright," he said and smiled down at his daughter as she struggled to her feet again, "In fact she just took her steps a few minutes ago."

"_That…that's great Mr. Gold," _he could hear her smile in her voice but he could also tell he'd awakened her out of a dead sleep.

"Yes well," he was aware that he'd probably just made himself sound a fool even though he'd promised Snow that he'd let her know about these things. Well he didn't really promise her that but he figured she'd want to know. And her gratitude would put her under his thumb should he ever need it, "Considering you're her babysitter I thought you would want to know."

"_I'm…I'm sure that you're very excited." _

He was surprised she didn't say something about how it could've waited till morning but he figured that wasn't in this personality of hers.

"Goodnight Ms. Blanchard," he said and put the phone down on the cradle.

Emma took a few more steps that showed she was sure of herself and then walked right into the wall.

He knew babies did that, Bae ran into everything when he was a child and he was learning to walk. But sometimes, Rumpelstiltskin was certain that Emma got more of Charming's genes than what he would've liked.

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Rumpelstiltskin smiled at his daughter as she babbled contently to herself while they walked side by side down the street. She had squirmed to get down out of his arms and so he allowed her to walk with him as long as she grasped his pant leg. The minute she tried to run out in the street though, that freedom would be over.

"Daddy!" she yelled and then started saying something unintelligible. She turned a year old tomorrow and so he didn't understand anything of what she was saying. That didn't stop her though; she kept talking to him like they were adults having a conversation.

He could see some of his own mannerisms in her face. She was watching him too much. But then again that was probably a good thing.

The door to the ice cream opened and he stopped and grabbed his daughter to keep her from walking face first into the door.

"Mr. Gold," he heard Regina's purr as she came out of the shop, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to nearly hit you with the door.

Yeah, he doubted that.

"Is that little Emma already?" she said without bothering to notice how uncomfortable he probably looked.

Rumpelstiltskin tensed. The curse would prevent her from figuring out who Emma was until she was 28. The curse was foolproof but that didn't mean he didn't worry about his daughter's safety, especially since the crazy man on the hill knew who she was too. God knew how long he'd sit on that information, "Yes, this is her."

Regina smiled warmly and for some reason that made Rumpelstiltskin's blood run even colder at the idea that this creature, this…_woman _would be warring with his daughter in a little more than two and a half decades.

He wasn't going to let Regina touch her.

"She's getting so big! Hi Emma."

Emma buried her face in Rumpelstiltskin's pant leg. She was shy but Rumpelstiltskin liked to think that she was a good judge of character on top of that.

"Her legs are still unsteady I noticed," Regina said.

He looked down at his daughter, "She's learning. Of course the concrete isn't a good thing to train her with but she wanted down."

"Must take you forever to get places."

"IT takes me forever to get places anyway," he snapped, reached down and lifted his daughter up. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder, "Excuse me, madam mayor."

He didn't like her looking at his daughter.


	9. Chapter 9

When Emma turned one year old, Rumpelstiltskin had made no plans to celebrate her birthday.

He didn't understand the point really. He knew that it would be important to Emma when she was older because she was the3 only person in Storybrooke that would age and so a birthday would be a phenomenal treat for her to have, but she was one year old now. She wasn't going to understand and she wasn't going to remember. So no matter how Mary Margaret pleaded and tried to nudge him into giving his daughter a party without actually coming out and saying it, he'd refused. He didn't want a bunch of little children in his house with adoring mothers who thought he went soft.

No, he was going to spend Emma's birthday with just her; a nice quiet day where no one bothered either one of them. He hadn't spent a full day with just them at home for a while.

The day went by without any interruption. Emma babbled to herself and sometimes bounced on his stomach when he wasn't paying enough attention to her. The blonde ringlets that were starting to form would fall over her eyes and she swiped them with clumsy hands, "Daddy!"

He watched her in amusement, "I wonder if it would be too much if I bought you a horse when you're a little bit older. From what I understand, every girl in this world dreams of a little pony but I don't think it's spoiling you…not really. After all, everyone in the Enchanted Forest needs to know how to ride. Savior princesses need know how to ride well."

She cocked her head to the side and bounced again. He grabbed her sides and lifted her in the air. She squealed at the rush that the move gave her and reached for his nose. He didn't understand why but she liked to grab his nose whenever she was entertained. The affectionate move made him feel self-conscious; he knew the monster was still lurking underneath the skin. He knew that he couldn't think that way when his daughter was playing but he couldn't help it. The only reason Emma was his was because the monster had demanded her for payment.

He frowned and pulled Emma to his chest. He gave a paternal kiss to her hair and held her close. Emma hugged him as best as her little arms would allow and pressed a slobbery mouth to his cheek in her attempt to kiss him.

Finally he pulled back and rested a large hand on the side of her face, "You hungry, little one? Let's get something to eat. Your father here isn't a very good cook without magic but I imagine I can cook up something that this earth calls _pasta._"

It was a disaster when he actually fed her through. Emma really loved the red sauce that he made. She loved it so much that most of it ended up on her than in her.

Despite the mess he made he couldn't help but be amused by how proud she was of herself. He pulled her out of the chair and cringed when she tried to wipe her face on his shirt.

Oh, NOW she was worried about the stuff on her face.

Someone knocked on the door and he sighed in frustration as his peaceful day was ruined. OF course someone wanted to bother him on his daughter's birthday.

He just hoped they knew the difference between pasta sauce and blood or they were going to be in for a grotesque surprise.

Mary Margaret stood patiently waiting as he opened the door. She furrowed her eyebrows in shock when she saw Emma's face but realized immediately what it was and looked back at him.

"Yes Ms. Blanchard," he said. At least it wasn't the hat man or the mayor. He really could stomach Mary Margaret a lot better but he knew if one showed up then everyone would show up and he was doing his best to keep Emma's age ambiguous so he didn't have a line of people wanting to give her gifts lining up. The less attention on Emma right now, the better. Regina might suspect something at any wrong move and the hatter was watching him, he knew he was, "What can I do for you?"

Emma smiled and reached for her, "MAMA!"

The word startled Rumpelstiltskin so badly that he nearly dropped her. Even Mary Margaret seemed to be taken aback and he saw the heat crawling up her neck, "I don't know _where _she got that Mr. Gold, I swear!"

"I was just about to put Emma in the bath, may I help you with something."

"I'm sorry to…to bother you Mr. Gold I know that you really wanted today as quiet as possible but I brought a gift for the baby."

He tried not to roll his eyes, "Ms. Blanchard, I made it perfectly clear that Emma doesn't need gifts because she's wanting for nothing."

_Like I promised you. _

"No, its not-," she hesitated and held out the gift, "I've had it for as long as I can remember. I thought that perhaps you could bond with Emma even more with it-."

It was a book. A brown cover with gold etchings near the edge. In the same gold color there were the famous words that seemed to start the stories in this world

'Once Upon A Time'.

"I thought that perhaps she would enjoy these when she got older. I Mean I don't need it and I thought that I should still give Emma a gift."

"Thank you," he said and took it. He didn't know what to make of them, Emma was still probably too young but he imagined he could still read them to her. At least it wasn't clothes. He could never understand why people bought so many clothes for a baby when they grew out of them as fast as they did.

He looked up, "Would you like to come in for a bit? We're just done eating but if you'd like something to drink then I could-."

She shook her head, "No, it's okay. You need to get Emma washed up and besides, I really have to be going."

He nodded his thanks and closed the door with his cane.

"Well Emma," he said and got her attention, "It seems you and I have some new reading material."


	10. Chapter 10

Rumpelstiltskin put his daughter in her crib after her bath and ran a hand through her blonde curls, "Well Emma, it was a nice first birthday, wasn't it?"

She nodded even though he doubted what she really understood what he was talking about.

He kissed her temple and sat in the rocking chair that he'd spent many long nights rocking her back to sleep or soothing her. He realized that most people would never view them as this kind of person but he also realized that there was a lot about him they didn't know.

"Let's look at this book that Ms. Blanchard gave us," he knew she probably wouldn't understand it but they would entertain him. If anything he could get a nice laugh out of how inaccurate it was.

Maybe he should just close it now and recount one of the real stories that he told her of their homeland.

But he wasn't in the mood to go over those…he opened the book to a random page and then froze when he saw that the woman on the picture bore an uncanny resemblance to the mayor in her queen form.

"What?" he whispered and flipped through a couple of other pictures.

This wasn't just some random book that Mary Margaret had. This was…this was from their world. This was their lives in here.

He flipped to a picture of a torch against a dark cave wall and frowned. He knew that could have been anywhere but he recognized immediately the torches of the wall around his cage back in the realms. There were several places in his life that he did not want an illustration of and that was one of them.

But that didn't stop the memories from flooding back. The smell of the earth and stone, the echo of whispering soldiers as they talked amongst themselves and told him nothing. The darkness was there as well…always the darkness that not even the light of the torches could fight back. When he was given his abilities, he was struck by how limited the human vision was. As he sat there in that forsaken darkness, he was reminded all too well that even he could suffer that same limitation again.

But the worst part was the loss of power. For three hundred years he'd lived with a crushing feeling in his chest and the lightness in his head that was the only feeling he had that told him he was invincible and powerful.

And when that power was taken from him, he was weak again. The feeling was stripped from him even though he knew he still wielded power but of knowledge and centuries of planning.

It was a miserable time and he didn't want to revisit it. It was bad enough he was mortal here but at least he was serving a purpose. Raising a savior was FAR better than rotting away in a cage to be looked at and mocked.

He slammed the book closed and tossed it aside. He would keep it for now, he would let Emma use it when she could read, it would help put the right accurate stories in her mind.

But until then, she was going to deal with her father telling her the stories. At least until Rumpelstiltskin was aware of what he was going to be giving to his little girl.

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Things were quiet in the Gold household until Emma turned three. Gold kept the book out of her reach when he saw what was in there.

Their little savior wasn't old enough to read those kinds of things yet. HE wasn't prepared to read over the fates of those that Regina had torn apart over a spiteful revenge plot over a twelve year old.

It'd benefitted him amazingly but he still didn't want to think about all those people being separated from their families. He'd suffered that tragedy enough times.

Emma still held his hand when they walked every morning. She chatted to him happily and he listened to her and played along with whatever games she came up with. He shouldn't feel that honored because she would run up and talk to anyone not named "Regina." But since she was the only one in town that wasn't afraid of him, he enjoyed her attention.

But gods, she was growing so fast….

He gave her to Mary Margaret that morning to watch. The school was having some kind of holiday and even though Mary Margaret could use some time off, Gold needed some time alone as well.

And Emma so enjoyed being with her mother.

He set to work dusting his shop that morning; it was a lot easier now that he didn't have a three year old underfoot that wanted to help him.

The phone rang and he limped back to answer it. In all the time of her chattering, he'd forgotten what it felt like to have a few hours of real peace and quiet.

These small moments were things that he'd come to value. He knew that didn't make him a bad parent. He just needed some time to himself.

He answered the phone and stretched his back, "Hello?"

"Mr. Gold?" he heard Snow's sobbing voice on the other end.

He straightened up at the fear in his voice, every possible scenario played in his head, "What happened?"

"I turned my back for a second-."

He grabbed his cane, "Where are you?"

"On-at the school but I've looked everywhere and-."

He hung up and started out the door.

Emma was gone. She couldn't have gotten far on those little legs but if she had help?

He needed to get to that school as soon as possible.


	11. Chapter 11

Rumpelstiltskin was in a panic when he pulled up to the school.

Emma was missing, Emma was missing…

Regina had something to do with this. He knew she did. HE knew that she had taken his daughter and when he was done with the school then he was going to go down to the mayor's office, hold a knife to her throat until she talked and then slit it right there.

But he needed to get Mary Margaret's story that way he knew who else was responsible so that he could make them pay too. Regina never did things like this herself; she had someone else do them so that she could pretend she wasn't responsible.

Oh, he was going to make her pay. She wasn't going to get away with hurting his daughter; he'd gut her and save their world a lot of trouble.

Mary Margaret met him outside when he pulled up on the sidewalk, he was at a bit of a distance but he could see her red rimmed eyes before she made it out the door.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"We were in the hall," she said, "And I turned my back to talk to one of the other teachers and then I turned around and she got down the hall. I've looked everywhere, I called Graham-."

Stupid, _stupid, _woman. The Huntsman was on Regina's payroll. Of course he would look the other way if she had her, "You've searched the school?"

"I had the other teachers look but we can't find her."

_I gave her to you to watch over, not to lose._

Instead he turned, "Search this area; I'm going to look on the streets.

"Mr. Gold," Mary Margaret looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown, "I'm sorry."

"Just find her," he snapped. _And say goodbye to your chances of seeing her again if Regina permanently hurt her. _

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to look for my daughter," he said and climbed in the car.

When he got in the car, his hands were shaking so hard that he dropped his keys. He reached down in the floorboard to pick them up and when he grabbed him he rested forehead against the wheel for just a second and gathered his emotions.

Emma was gone, here he was entrusted with the savior and we went and lost her.

She could be hurt, she could be scared and the idea of her crying for him in a place where he couldn't reach her sent waves of anger and fear through him as he jerked the key to the right in the ignition and started the car.

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Rumpelstiltskin got in about three car accidents while he frantically drove around trying to find his daughter. He figured that he could look around for a brief second before he went and tortured Emma's location out of Regina. He wasn't looking forward to revealing that Emma was important and he wasn't ready to give her the satisfaction of knowing that he was awake.

A flash of blonde hair got his attention and he jerked his head to the left to see Emma standing there…happily chatting with Jefferson

He slammed on the brakes and rushed out of the car. Jefferson was nearly as bad as Regina and he was going to make him pay dearly for touching Emma.

Emma turned and beamed when she saw him, "Daddy!"

Jefferson was temporarily forgotten about when she ran towards him. He dropped his cane and embraced her tightly against his chest. When she squirmed, he pulled back and covered her small face in kisses and looked her over, "Are you alright? Are you okay?"

She nodded and he embraced her again, "Don't do that. Don't wonder off like that, do you know what you did to Mary Margaret? Do you know what you did to me? You could've gotten hurt!"

Emma's eyes filled with tears, "I'm sorry daddy."

He carried her to the car and put her in the seat. When his back was turned to Jefferson, and Emma was buckled up he gripped her hands and buried his face in them. He drew a few breaths to calm himself down. Emma was safe, she wasn't hurt. Regina wasn't responsible. He could take Emma home and deal with her wondering off a lot better now that she wasn't hurt.

He turned to Jefferson who was clutching one of the ugliest hats that Rumpelstiltskin had ever seen, "Why are you here?"

"I saw her wandering around," Jefferson said, "I came to get her before someone on Regina's payroll did. She was terrified and lost and she was upset so I figured that I'd calm her down and we'd wait for someone to come by."

"Well thank you," he snapped and shut the back door.

Emma waved and Jefferson and he smiled, "She's so happy, I'm trying to figure out how she got that way with you as her father. I suppose even irredeemable men like you and I did something right with our kids though."

Rumpelstiltskin saw Emma clutching a hat similar to the one that the hatter was holding. She tried to put it on and giggled when it slipped over her head and on landed on her shoulders. He realized what the madman was trying to do, "You were trying to get her to give that hat magic."

"Yes well….," Jefferson shrugged, "We were here and I didn't think it would hurt."

Rumpelstiltskin could kill him right here. The only reason that he didn't was because Emma was watching, "You took my daughter aside and you waited here not because you knew we'd find her eventually but because you wanted to get a link back to the old world."

"I just want to go back home."

"There's no home left to go back to!" Rumpelstiltskin snapped, "Besides, her magic won't occur yet."

"Then when will it?"

Rumpelstiltskin chose not to answer that, "You come near my daughter again, you will pay the price. If sometime happens to her I will assume that you are responsible. I'm feeling generous because you kept her safe but after this, that feeling will be gone. Stay away from my family."

"She's not really your family though, is she?"

Oh he walked right into that one, "She's more family to me right now than your daughter is to you currently."

He left Jefferson to stand there and fume while he climbed in the car and drove to the school.

He was still on the fence with what he was going to do with Mary Margaret and her visitation rights but the least he could do was ease her fears and call off the search.

"Daddy, I love you," Emma said when they were pulling away from the madman.

The words filled him with relief that she was safe and guilt for taking her away from her real family, "I love you too Emma, but you were bad for running off."

She looked hurt, "I'm sorry."

"From now on, you stay with me or you stay with Ms. Blanchard. And you don't talk to people you don't know," he gripped the wheel tightly at the next words, "Something could've happened."

"What?" Emma asked curiously.

He didn't have the heart to answer her question; instead he pressed on the gas and drove back to the school.


	12. Chapter 12

Rumpelstiltskin checked on Emma about three times after he put her to bed that night. He'd had Marco put in a new lock for both doors after dinner that could only be opened with a key. He wished that he'd done this sooner. Emma was curious by nature and she liked to wander when she got bored. After today he wasn't going to take any chances. He didn't want Emma near Regina or that madman hat boy. He only shuddered to think about what happened if Jefferson had Emma longer than what he did. If he couldn't have forced her to give the magic back in the hat then he might've been so desperate that he turned her into Regina with news about who she was and why Gold had adopted her.

The idea of either one of them touching his daughter sent more waves of anger through him as he checked on Emma one last time and then got ready for bed himself. She wasn't in a crib anymore so her getting up in the middle of the night if she couldn't sleep was going to be easier.

He changed into a white long sleeve shirt and sweat bottoms. His Mr. Gold persona had worn silk pajamas for some reason but Rumpelstiltskin didn't like feeling like he was sliding around in the bed. And silk didn't really work when comforting a crying spitting up baby. That was something that he'd learned the hard one when Emma spit up on everything else he had.

Thank God that stage in her childhood was over.

A thought struck him as he lay down in bed for the night. Emma wasn't going to want to stay in this town forever. A world was a lot less of a scary place when Ogres and trolls and giants could burst out of nowhere and kill you. He supposed that humanity was as good an enemy as any of those if not worse…but Emma was living with a human monster now. He imagined she would know how to spot one when she grew up.

She would want to leave, and the town border only affected those with a curse so how did he convince her that it wasn't safe enough to leave?

Maybe the best plan was for her to believe she was under the town barrier too. That once she became his daughter and made her place in the community that she became restricted in that sense.

So even if she did realize what a monster he was (Which he knew that she would) and if she left him (like everyone did) at least he could see her every day and would never have to suffer through what he did with Bae's disappearance by wondering if he ever found happiness. This world had dangers of its own and they didn't belong here and if she left to go out in that place then he worried about what she might do to survive.

She might become like him now wouldn't that be ironic?

He sat on the bed and rubbed his leg. He'd seen storm clouds before he'd settled down and that cold front was definitely moving in tonight. It was going to be a painful morning for him. He really wished he'd specified that he wasn't going to have a limp in this world when he created the curse but he was so old by then that he'd forgotten he had it.

Oh well, at least he could use it to his advantage. Everyone believed that he was weaker with the limp, they would underestimate him.

So he would convince Emma that she couldn't escape her destiny by making her believe that she couldn't leave town or something bad would happen. It wasn't the most honest route to take but he was the dark one after all. Manipulating people was what they did and one of the few times in his life he was doing this for Emma's and everyone else's benefit. She could hate him all she wanted to if she ever found out the truth but this was where she was meant to be. She'd be an outcast anywhere else and he didn't want that for her. He knew what that would mean.

But by being here, and having the status as the savior and aging when no one else was, wouldn't she be an outcast here too?

At least she'd have her purpose here…and that was far more than what he could say out there. NO, she may dislike it when she got older and the world started offering everything it had to offer but she was better off here.

HE saw a streak of lightning and then a large clap of thunder clapped overhead bringing him out of his thoughts.

Wait for it….

He heard the small pitter patter of his daughter's feet as she raced to his room a few seconds later. She scrambled up on his bed and crawled over to him so fast that he wondered if advanced speed was part of her savior status.

He sat up and nearly choked when she scrambled in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. He returned the gesture. Emma had always been scared of storms; it dated back to when she was a baby. He wondered if maybe it was because that curse that she'd been born into sounded so much like a storm during her short time there that she associated the curse with bad weather.

"Emma," he rubbed her back and tried to sooth her fear, "It's alright, it's only thunder, and thunder can't hurt you."

She held on tighter, "I'm scared."

"You're inside and you're safe, a storm won't hurt you Emma."

He threw back the covers to take her back to her room but she sobbed and practically put him in a chokehold.

He sighed, he hadn't done this since she was a baby and that was only because it was easier when she woke up screaming to be fed. But now that she was older he'd put a firm foot down so that she would sleep in her own room. It usually worked…

But he wasn't in the mood to take her to her room and pry her off. HE had a feeling that he'd pass out from lack of oxygen before he even reached the door.

And after today…he wasn't really all that willing to let her out of his sight again.

"Would you like to stay in here with me?"

Another flash of lightning illuminated her terrified face. She nodded and he pried her off his neck.

He pulled back the covers, "This time only. You're three years old; you need to start being a big girl."

She scrambled underneath the covers and wrapped her arms around his so that she knew he was there.

He brushed a hand through his hair, closed his eyes, and only fell asleep when he heard his daughter's quiet snoring beside him.


	13. Chapter 13

Rumpelstiltskin owned the building but it was the first time that he'd stood on the property during official business hours.

He didn't want to be here, in fact he rather wished he'd tired out someone private to handle this situation instead of him coming out here to handle the transportation and business transactions that would be happening for the next fourteen years.

Emma pulled on his hand impatiently, "Daddy, _come ON." _

He looked down at his little girl and limped forward with her. Her little pink backpack bounced as her two steps kept up with his. He didn't let her run forward because she'd probably get ahead of him and there are far too many people here and he'd lose her.

He hated schools; it was only because Mary Margaret insisted that Emma be around children her own age that he'd sent her here instead of hiring a tutor. He didn't tell her that no child was really 'Emma's age' and the only reason he'd really relented was because he knew how lonely Bae had been. Emma would realize that her playmates weren't aging soon enough but at least he could give her these memories. He wanted her to be a child for a little while before she had to be their savior.

Emma was excited to be starting school though. It was all she talked about for the past month. The memories of Emma sitting at the dinner table swinging her legs in the air while talking about everything she was going to do in her class would be with him forever. She was just so…happy.

He wished he'd once had innocence like that.

He found Emma's classroom with a bit of difficulty and saw Ms. Stalk's smile slowly turn into a terrified frown when she saw him standing there hand in hand with his daughter.

Emma waved and tried to run forward to play with the children. Rumpelstiltskin was only vaguely aware that he hadn't let go of her yet. Emma looked up at him with a scowl on her face, "Daddy!"

He bent down and pulled her to face him, "Emma, if you want to come home then we can go."

Emma shook her head. She wanted to stay. She didn't understand why her father worried about giving her to someone other than himself or Ms. Blanchard for six to eight hours a day.

"Emma," he whispered and put a hand on the side of her face, "If you need help…all you have to do is find a phone and call me and I'll be here. You know my number?"

She nodded; Gold had made sure she memorized it even though she was four years old.

He still didn't like this. He would think that Emma was safe among all the other children and adults. She would be safe. But the unfortunate thing was that when there was a large crowd, there was also a big chance she could be overlooked.

This was only a trial run, Emma could get taken at any time and if that madman or the ice queen tried to make a move then he'd know about it and Emma would be withdrawn and tutored alone.

And he'd know they would make a move because he had eyes all over this town and they'd report to him if either one of them or the other minions got within ten feet of his daughter. He'd set it up when Emma had wondered off nearly a year ago. He wasn't just some parent that worried about his kid. Emma was actually a threat to the evil in this town and so evil would naturally pose a threat to her. When one was the dark one, there was no such thing as paranoia.

"I love you, little one," he whispered and then kissed her cheek, "Be good and maybe I'll take you out for ice cream when school's over."

She gave a gleeful little squeal and wrapped her arms around his neck. He returned the gesture, kissed her cheek, and let her go play with some other children that technically resembled her age.

He turned and left. She would be fine, she would be fine, and she would be fine.

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"Your daughter has gotten herself into a bit of trouble Mr. Gold."

Rumpelstiltskin shot a glare at his daughter as they sat with the teacher after class. She looked upset and scared.

"What has she done?" Oh, he expected her to act out sometime since she was only four years old, but he didn't expect her to do something to get him called out of the pawn shop on her first day. Maybe it was because of his reluctance to really let her play with children her own age. Maybe she just didn't know how to act.

"We took the children to play today and apparently there was a confrontation on the schoolyard-."

He gave another look to his daughter. She had gone on play dates before, Mary Margaret had taken her on them mostly but when he attended he usually saw that Emma was the bossy one that decides which games they would play. He could see early that she was going to be a girl with a strong personality.

"It appears that one of the boys was teasing a smaller boy when Emma came up. I didn't see it myself but from what I've been able to understand she pushed the bigger boy down and he cracked his head against the pavement. He's going to need stitches."

Gold kept his face unreadable, "I'll pay for it."

Emma curled up against herself.

"And she also kissed the smaller boy. Just thought that you should know."

For some reason that made Rumpelstiltskin smile, he had no idea why. He tried to put on his best lady winning smile, "Well children will be children."

"Mr. Gold-."

I assure you that Emma will be taken care of and she won't give you any trouble again."

He stood, grabbed Emma's hand and walked out of the room with her.

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It was a quiet ride back to the house until Rumpelstiltskin figured out what he was going to say to her, "Do you understand why you're in trouble, Emma?"

"I fought," she said.

"Emma…I know that you were standing up for that boy, and that was a…good thing to do. But the way you pushed that boy down was not right. Do you understand the difference?"

"No."

He didn't really understand it either, but he was just playing the father card. In all honesty, he was cheering for her, "You'll understand when you're older."

It seemed like that was the excuse that he always fell back on these days.


	14. Chapter 14

While Rumpelstiltskin repaired various bits and pieces of odds and ends at the table in his office, Emma sat on the table next to him and tried cutting out fish she'd drawn on construction paper. Her class was learning about the various fish around the world and the task was to make a small school of them to put in the wall of the hallway. They weren't even accurate but it was more of an imagination thing than it was actual education.

He looked at her, she looked like her mother with her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth and her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He gave a small affectionate smile to her even though she wasn't paying attention to him. Pre-K had been a trial due to Emma's strong will but she'd settled a little bit better in Kindergarten. This teacher was willing to work with Emma and help her find a way to channel her defiance into something productive; her previous teacher thought that Emma was acting out because she had him for a father. He wasn't supposed to know that but he had eyes everywhere and Ms. Stalk had a big mouth when she got a few drinks in her.

Emma finally got done on what felt like her fiftieth fish and put it on the stack of messily cut paper that she'd made earlier. She flexed her hand and rubbed the circulation back in them, "Daddy? How come I don't have a mom?"

Rumpelstiltskin stopped. He'd been expecting that she'd ask this soon, he'd even practiced for it. He tried to keep her from noticing but he could only do so much when they were walking through the park and she saw parents with their children.

He put down the tools and moved over to face her. He would give Emma anything she wanted but he wouldn't take a wife. The drama that having comfort from a woman that wasn't aware of who she was would backfire on him when they woke up. He knew that already.

"Emma," he took her hands, "What do you know about your mother?"

Emma looked down, "They say she didn't want me."

Rumpelstiltskin narrowed his eyes, "Who told you that?"

"The other kids."

He wondered how the parents of the 'other children' would like it if he bumped up their rent because they didn't teach their brats how to keep their mouths shut.

"Emma," he held her hands in his, "Emma, your mother didn't give you up because she didn't want you. Sometimes letting go…sometimes letting go is the best for everyone involved."

And sometimes letting go was the sign of cowardice.

He closed his eyes and tried not to think about his son's screams nor the relief that his hand felt when he'd let him go in that…one second that changed everything.

"Your mother loved you very much," He told her, "When she was pregnant with you, she was so excited…but sometimes bad things happen and to keep the ones that a person loves safe, they have to let them go. Your mother gave you to me because she knew that I would keep you safe."

He didn't tell her about her real father. Not yet. She would look at him differently if she didn't believe that he was her father, what child wanted a monster for a papa when they had their own personal Prince Charming? She would hate him if she knew that he'd dealt to take her away from both of them. He kept a brave laid back front with Emma but in truth he was terrified of losing her. He couldn't…not another child. And not in a way that would make her happier and he'd have to look at that every day when it was him that saved her and him that raised her.

She would probably know about Prince Charming one day. But not anytime soon. He'd bend over backwards to make sure that didn't happen.

"Will I see her again one day?"

He smiled and put his hand against her face, "You will, I promise. But much much later"

Emma's eyes brightened, "Will you marry Ms. Blanchard instead?! She could be my mom!"

He was glad he wasn't drinking anything at that moment because he would've spit it out. He knew the speculation about the relationship with Mary Margaret was rampant, she was the only one he openly trusted near his child and she was the only one that he bothered to willingly talk to in a way that didn't make them terrified of him. He knew Regina probably started most of those rumors and he couldn't say he was surprised that Emma had either made her own deductions or picked up on some of the local gossip herself.

"Oh Emma,' He laughed in amusement and looked down, "I don't love Mary."

"You could!"

He looked into her innocent eyes. Oh, she didn't understand fully what she was asking but it was a little too tempting for his taste. Emma and Mary adored each other and she needed a mother figure. Mary also needed an ally against Regina and the only one that would give that to her was him. If he did what Emma wanted him to then it would ease some of the misery that Mary faced.

As well as increase it when she woke up. Even if he did keep his vow of celibacy when he got here, then the fact that Snow White shared a house and child with the imp that she made this deal with would haunt her, destroy her relationship with her Neanderthal husband and put Emma in years of therapy. There was also what it'd do to him; he'd already been hurt by two women in his many lifetimes, he didn't want to set himself up for number three.

"Mary Margaret has her own true love and it's not me. She should have the right to find that as much as anyone else."

Emma looked down and he tilted her chin up to look at him, "Your mother loves you Emma, and I love you. I know that it's hard to understand because she's not here but one day you'll understand why she's not…really here. But unlike other mothers who leave because they're selfish and don't want responsibilities…your mother did it to help you. I hope you'll understand that."

He pulled her into a hug and pressed his lips against the top of her head. She rested her head on his chest for a few seconds and then looked up.

"You know, all this talking and watching you work has made me hungry," He gave her another little smile and tucked some of her hair behind her ears, "Maybe you and I should go get some ice cream."

Emma's eyes brightened but he saw the loneliness in there as well. HE wished he could ease that but no one understood Emma. Not really. Even though her classmates were her age and had the memories of a child, they were also five years older than her in some ways while she was older than them in others. It was confusing and it only isolated his daughter even more.

He helped her down off the table and took her hand. Emma looked back at the small walking stick that she used to be like him but the promise of Rocky Road made her leave it behind.

Rumpelstiltskin knew that Emma's questions about her mother would only increase. For now he could ease her fears but one day…he wouldn't be able to provide the answers that would satisfy her.

And he honestly hoped that Snow White and her sacrifice didn't suffer for that in Emma's eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

There was a threat of snow that December so Mr. Gold made sure to buy enough groceries to last he and Emma the week that the storm and cold front was supposed to last.

Emma loved snow, Her first few years, she stumbled around the yard, bundled in as many clothes as Rumpelstiltskin could fit her in and her favorite little game was to fall face first in the snow and roll and make him come out to get her because she couldn't get back up.

And that was only when he could keep up with her.

"Emma," he called, "Ms. Blanchard, I'm back."

He barely glanced at Mary Margaret as she came into the front hall. He tried not to really regard her, especially after Emma happily voted for Mary to become his wife and her step mother. He tried not to imagine it, it was just embarrassing.

"Mr. Gold," Mary stuttered, "I-we were starting to get worried about you, you should've been home an hour ago-."

"I'll pay for the extra time," he said, "The store was very crowded and unfortunately I had to wait in line along with everyone else."

"Is there anything left?" Mary half joked.

"No," he told her honestly, "Everyone cleared everything of importance out which is why I went ahead and bought you a few things to survive on as well."

Mary blushed, "You didn't have to do that."

"You just watched my daughter while I worked and got supplies," he told her. It was hard for him to trust her with Emma again after she lost her at the school. Mary had apologized and cried profusely when he brought her back to the school that day but he didn't budge from his stance on her negligence. IT took three days before he even considered allowing her to see Emma again, much less watch her. It'd been a month before he'd allowed her a couple of hours to watch her daughter and before he'd known it, they fell into that pattern again. The only way that he allowed for Mary to watch her was if she stayed at his house. Maybe she'd trust her to watch Emma in her own apartment soon.

"W-w-well thank you," she stuttered and averted her gaze like she always did when he tried to be nice.

He looked around, "Where's Emma?"

"Oh, she's watching Snow White."

Rumpelstiltskin froze at the name of the movie that that Disney knockoff had made. Rumpelstiltskin would never dream of seeing it but his Mr. Gold had memories of seeing it as a child. It could've have been less accurate if they tried. He wanted to snap at her that Snow White was nowhere NEAR the damsel in distress that movie had made her out to be and the evil queen wasn't near that subtle.

Although he had to admit that the magic mirror in that was a lot more entertaining than the real thing and what they'd done to Prince Charming's character was _hilarious. _

He'd endure it; at least he could tell Emma the true story tonight as she got ready for bed. She was seven now, it was high time he started telling her the truth about her origins and her world. He'd started telling them to her but right now it was only a couple of stories about him. Her favorite character was the imp that gave everything to save his son. He hadn't meant to sound like the hero of the story but Emma took it that way and he became her favorite character.

He supposed this world liked its darker characters over the lighter ones. He didn't understand why. HE was not a hero, he was a monster and he imagined that if his story ever got out then people would try to justify the horrible things he'd done to get his way.

"Well, my bodyguard is waiting to take you home," he opened the door for her; "Your groceries are in his backseat.

"I'll grab my purse," she said and then stopped, "Oh, Mr. Gold, I have a question."

"Yes," he replied while trying to hide his annoyance. He really wanted to lay in front of the fire more comfortable clothes.

"That new movie "'Beauty and the Beast' is coming out next year and I was wondering-."

Mr. Gold felt his muscles freeze. He knew the story, his Mr. Gold had taken interest in fairy tales when he was younger, especially the darker versions and he knew the story of the beauty and the beast quite well. And the memories awoke in him or Belle and her death because of him were not something that he was looking forward to having. HE lived with those every day, he didn't want his daughter chatting about something that she knew nothing about and making those memories worse.

"I don't think that's necessary," He said a little more sharply than he should have, "When the time comes, you may take Emma to any movie you wish within reason but that one."

"Well, what do you mean, why?"

"That's my business," he said, "You'll receive your paycheck at the end of the month, I don't think I'll need you before then. Now if you don't mind, my bodyguard has a family that he needs to get home to as well."

"I'm sorry if I-If I offended you."

"Of course not," he replied, "I just loathe that story. True love doesn't exist for monsters and beasts, Ms. Blanchard. Any semblance of that would be taken away because they don't get rewarded for all the horror they caused."

Mary looked confused and shrugged, "But monsters can change-."

"Monsters never change; they don't understand the difference between good and evil like humans do. That's what makes them monsters, dear."

Mary paled at the bitterness in his voice, "I see…"

"Well," he said, taking more of an upbeat tone, "I'm sure you'll want to get home before the storm gets here. Goodbye Ms. Blanchard, I imagine our paths will cross again soon."

He waited till she was gone and he moved to the living room where Emma was bundled up on the couch. The thermometer and medicine was on the table. A cold bowl of soup was on the table. It appeared that not even Ms. Blanchard could get Emma to eat anything.

She opened her eyes and smiled weakly at him, "Hi daddy."

"Are you feeling better?"

She started to answer and but coughed. He could hear the congestion in her chest from there.

"No," she whispered. Rumpelstiltskin checked her cheeks and forehead for the fever and found it was still there.

He turned off the TV with the remote and sat on the couch next to his daughter. She'd been battling this stuff for two incredibly long days. The doctors hadn't done anything but give her medicine and that wasn't doing much.

He lifted her up and pulled her into his lap. Emma would normally resist because she 'wasn't a baby anymore' but this time she let him wrap her up in the blankets Mary Margaret had piled on her. She leaned on his chest and he held her until she went to sleep.

And then when he woke up, he realized he was coming down with the same thing that Emma was ill with.


	16. Chapter 16

The couch in the back room of the house was a foldout couch and it was in front of a fireplace so it was idea for Rumpelstiltskin to pull out and sleep on. It was a lot smaller than his room upstairs and it was heated a lot more easily.

He slept on and off during the day and then most of the night. He only awakened to find that Emma had crawled next to him and wrapped herself up in one of the blankets that had made it from the closet to the couch and now to the backroom. It seemed to be Emma's favorite because she walked around the house with it wrapped around her shoulders like a cape since she was ill.

He sat up and checked on her as she slept. She still had a wheeze but it sounded a lot better than it did even a day ago. He turned over to see that Emma had placed a bowl of cereal on the nightstand sometime earlier that day so he could have something to eat when he woke up.

He smiled down at his daughter and kissed her temple. It was only then that he noticed that on the other side of her was the book that Mary Margaret had given her. He wondered if she had stationed herself up next to him and read through the book to keep herself entertained.

Rumpelstiltskin stretched his back and closed his eyes as the drowsiness took over.

"Daddy?"

He looked over at his daughter and smiled as she lifted her head, "Hey Emma, I see you've been taking care of me."

She wrinkled her nose and looked at the Vicks Vapor Rub that he'd rubbed on himself to try and clear this stuff up, "You smell funny."

"Yes," he said and looked at her, "I suppose I do."

"Do you need anything?" she asked and took his hand.

"No Emma," he wrapped the blanket around her, "Just go back to sleep. I don't need anything more than that."

She yawned and curled back up on the pillow.

The exhaustion weighed down on Rumpelstiltskin and he closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

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Rumpelstiltskin put up with being sick for two days before he gave up on trying to fight the sickness himself and went to the hospital. He wasn't all powerful so that he could still get sick but he couldn't exactly die due to being frozen in time. And he really regretted that right now.

And his immune system was taking a hit as well and Emma seemed to bring every illness ever known to man from school to home for him to get sick on. He was never a healthy boy growing up due to being premature and nearly dying several times as a baby. It was something that followed him until he was an adult

Emma had accompanied him to the hospital but thanks to the line that he had to practically crawl through, she was antsy and bored.

The doctor saw him and told Rumpelstiltskin everything he already knew and gave him some medicine. While he talked to the doctor, Emma got bored and started wondering around the large room. Rumpelstiltskin kept an eye on her…as long as she didn't leave the room or pull someone's plug then he didn't really mind what she was doing. She'd finally learned not to touch things that didn't belong to her.

"Mr. Gold," Dr. Whale said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Thank you," Rumpelstiltskin accepted the prescriptions, "Emma!"

She stood at the door where Charming was in the coma. Her nose was pressed to the glass as she watched him sleep. She was clean because he insisted that she take showers for the steam to break up the congestion but her hair was wild from two days of sleeping on the foldout couch next to him in front of the fireplace and TV. Oh he was dreading untangling that mess when he could actually stand for a while without getting dizzy.

He grabbed his cane and limped towards her, "Emma."

She looked up at him and he held out his hand. She looked back at her biological father before she reluctantly accepted his hand and he tried not to yank her away from that man as fast as possible.

"Daddy," she whispered as they walked toward the car, "Daddy, he looks like one of the men from my book!"


	17. Chapter 17

Rumpelstiltskin watched his seven year old daughter as she poured through the large book that weight down her lap. Like anyone her age, she was old enough to believe that fairy tales weren't real but since she'd seen Charming asleep, it seemed to have opened up an obsession in her since they got home.

"See daddy?" she pointed to the picture of Charming, "See? It looks like him."

"It could just be a coincidence, Emma," he told her and tried to work through the tangles in her hair with a brush, "A picture doesn't prove anything and that picture of a blonde haired blue eyed man could look like a thousand people in Maine."

Emma watched him, for her age she was remarkably perceptive, some of the teachers were even talking about giving her courses above her age to keep her from getting bored.

He wondered if that was because she was a true love baby or she had him for a father.

"But look!" she moved the pages and pointed it at Regina, "That looks like the mayor! And that one looks like Mr. Graham and-."

"Emma," he grabbed her and turned her around so that she was facing him, "Emma…"

The game was up…at least part of it and he knew it, "Alright Emma…I need you to…I need you to listen to me because I know this is going to be hard to understand."

He told her everything he could. He told her about the Evil Queen casting the curse to bring them here, he told her about the land they came from and how she was destined to save them. He wasn't sure how much of her mind was absorbing this but she listened patiently.

"Does Santa Clause exist?" she asked.

"Absolutely not, that's an actual myth," He said. He'd lived in the world for 300 years, he knew more about the worlds that surrounded him than the realm jumpers themselves. He would've known if there was a jolly fat man who delivered presents to good little boys and girls.

Emma looked at him; her eyes filled with tears, "What about my mom?"

Rumpelstiltskin took a breath, he'd been hoping to avoid this until she was much much older, but she knew that she was the savior now. If she figured out that much then she'd be able to figure out how she came to be the savior and she would figure out who her parents were.

He didn't want some book being the one to tell her that she wasn't really his daughter.

"Emma, no matter what I tell you…I want you to know that I love you still and I'm still your father, do you understand? Nothing changes that in my eyes and I hope that it doesn't for you either. But when your mother…came to me to ask me to protect you, it was because she loved you. You know that, I've already told her that but when she came to me she was already pregnant with you and she was starting to feel labor pains. Your mother was never…" he blushed, talking about this with his seven year old daughter, "she was never with me in a way that meant she could get pregnant. I only agreed to take you in because she knew that I could keep you safe. And when I adopted you…that first night that I held you in my arms…even though I started to love you like my own daughter so the fact that I'm not the man that your mother loved doesn't mean I'm NOT your father. I am…just in a different way."

A tear slipped down her face and he wiped it away, "Emma, you can't tell anyone about this. Because if you do it could put you in danger. Regina doesn't know that you're the savior but if she thought you were the one to defeat her then she'd hurt you. And I couldn't bear that, no matter what anyone tells you, you ARE my daughter."

Emma wiped at her face, "Who is my dad?"

"The man in the coma that you say today."

Emma's face crumbled and she started crying. At first Rumpelstiltskin was reluctant to pull her in his arms because he didn't know how she'd react but when she leaned towards him, he gathered her in his arms and pulled her against his chest.

"Emma, it's alright," he whispered and just held her, "I'm still going to be your father and I still love you. And Mary Margaret loves you...none of those feelings are false…Mary just doesn't understand why she's so drawn to you. This doesn't change anything."

But he knew that it changed everything.

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Jefferson couldn't sleep on snowy nights. He never could. When he was a child, they only had one small fireplace and despite the tiny size of his family's cabin, it never warmed it the way that it was supposed to. There were many a night where he spent curled in the bed with his younger brother and older sister just hoping that their shared body heat didn't let them freeze to death.

But now it was different, here he never felt the winter's chill and it felt unnatural for him. The walls that kept the winds out separated him from the world and it just served to remind him that he was completely isolated here. With no one to love and no false memories to hide behind…other than Regina and the imp and neither one were company that he EVER wanted to keep again.

So he watched the sleepy little town in his telescope. The snow that covered Storybrooke had kept all the residents inside and Grace had gone to bed hours ago but it still gave him something to do. He sort of felt like a guardian of the town this way, he knew everything happened and he'd be the first one to recognize any sign of danger. That could come in handy now that the savior was getting older.

He should check on that house. HE could tell something was bothering Rumpelstiltskin, he'd watched them come from the hospital. She'd said something to him in the parking lot and then he watched as Rumpelstiltskin's face changed into something far grimmer than he'd seen since he'd gotten his claws on their savior.

He was glad that he did so, because he saw Emma slip out the living room window wearing her jacket and a bulging pink backpack that she only took to school.

Was she running away?

Oh if she was, he needed to stop this from happening. Where did she honestly thing that she was going?

He grabbed his coat and cravat and one of the hats that he set aside in case he ever ran into Emma again.

He never thought he'd live to see the day when he admitted this but he was going to convince a seven year old Emma that she was better off if she stayed with that imp she had to call a father.


	18. Chapter 18

Emma had bundled herself up as tightly as she could but the biting wind still stung her face from where the wind hit it. She was still recovering from being sick and she was still suffering from the runny nose so she had to keep the scarf off her mouth and nose because it would run into the scarf and she was worried that it'd get in her mouth. And that was gross.

So as she stumbled her way through the snow, she tried to distract herself from the cold by watching the breath make a steamy fog for a brief second before it evaporated. Emma wondered where it went but then she remembered that the stupid boys like to go in the schoolyard and pretended that they were smoking by rolling up pieces of paper and then blowing the air out and pretended their breath the smoke. Some did it to try and impress the girls; the other girls that thought it was gross were then chased around by the boys with their little rolled pieces of paper. Emma was one of those girls, it freaked her out and she hated them.

She told her father to make them stop but he only chuckled and said they did it because liked her.

What did he know? Boys that liked girls didn't make them cry. They made them feel pretty.

The thought of her father made her start to shiver….he wasn't her dad. The guy that slept in the hospital was. He'd called himself her adopted father, he was like her stepdad but in the stories that he read her, the step parents were always evil. Did that make him evil? He said that he was the imp in the stories but he always got upset when she said that he was her favorite character in the stories. He told her that the imp was a monster. So if he is the imp and the imp is was monster than he had to be a monster himself. And so his promises to love her were a lie then right? He didn't love her because monsters didn't love. He'd told her that.

It was all a lie.

She rubbed at her eyes but the leftover water from her tears made her feel even colder.

She was going to go find her mother, Snow White may be Mary Margaret but she would believe when Emma told her the truth. She would make her believe. After all she was her mother and what mother could forget her child? And then she'd wake up and wake the man in the coma up and they'd be a family and they could go home.

She made it halfway to Ms. Blanchard's apartment before it started snowing again. Ms. Blanchard was asleep. She'd wake up for Emma. Would she be mad? Would their first memories together be of her being angry because she woke her up to get her to remember?

Then a terrifying thought hit Emma…what if Snow took her back? What if she called her crazy and hated her? She'd heard her father…she'd heard Rumpelstiltskin mention that Regina had an institution under the hospital. What if she was put in there and she never saw anyone again? Not her real dad, not her real mom.

Not even her adopted dad.

"Emma!"

She froze at the sound of the voice and turned. It wasn't her father's and that both scared and relieved her. He'd take her back home and he'd be angry. He used to tell her that he'd wear her out of she kept wandering off now that she knew better. But this man….with the long coat and the big hat in his hands…she didn't remember him all that well. HE looked familiar but she couldn't remember his name.

He was going to take her back wasn't he? No one was supposed to remember except her adopted dad and the evil queen.

She tried to run for it but the man was faster. He grabbed her coat and she screamed as loud as she could before she remembered that she was supposed to be quiet so no one would hear her.

The man let go of her immediately after she screamed and held his hands up like people did on shows then they had a gun pointed at them, "Alright, I won't touch you."

"I don't want to go back!" She cried, "Please don't make me go back!"

He tilted his head, like he was trying to figure out something, "Why don't you want to go back home?"

Emma stopped what if he worked for the queen? What if this was a trick to see what she knew? She should run…maybe run home. All of a sudden her adopted father and his plans for her didn't seem so scary. She was stupid; he let her see her mother all she wanted.

She watched him. She didn't know what she wanted to say.

He wrapped a blanket around her and she struggled viciously out of his grip, "Who are you?"

"It's alright; I'm a friend of your father's."

Her eyes grew in excitement, "You know my real daddy?"

He stopped and then tried to smile and her adopted father had told her that was the quickest way to spot a lie, "Your real dad is someone far off that gave you up for adoption."

He tapped a finger to her nose and she felt her excitement fade. He didn't know her real father. No one did. Not really. Not in a way that she could learn about him.

"Now, where are you going," he asked.

"Nowhere," she lied.

He pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows, "You look like you're going somewhere to me."

She pulled away from him. He was going to take her back….

"Where are you going?" he asked again.

"I can't tell you."

"It looks like you're going to the apartment of your babysitter."

"No I'm not," she lied again.

"Then you're going to find your mother, aren't you?" She looked up sharply and he sat back, satisfied that he had his answer, "So you know?"

If he knew then he was one of Regina's bad guys. The only two people that were supposed to know where her father…her fake father and Regina and whoever Regina told. She had to because her father never told anyone because he didn't trust anyone.

She tried to race away but he grabbed her by her jacket and tried to pull her back. But Emma was also a lot cleverer than what he thought because she pulled out of her coat started running without it. She didn't get very far though. She didn't expect to. She had a feeling that he would grab her any minute but instead he appeared in front of her and she barreled into him.

"What are you running from, I'm not going to hurt you!" he told her but she didn't believe him. He was a spy for Regina and Regina lied. Just like everyone she trusted…just like her father.

"You'll take me to Regina," she accused.

He stopped and something that looked like sadness crossed his face "I don't work for Regina. I told you, I'm a friend of your adopted father's. I'm the one that makes sure that you stay safe."

"Why do you care?" she demanded.

"Because I lost my daughter," he said, "And while I can't keep her safe…at least I can protect someone else's."

"And because you want to use me to be the hero."

"No, Emma, no," he said and she wasn't sure if he was lying or not, "You're not the savior, not yet. Not for a long time, hopefully. For now, you're just a child growing up in a strange town and it's my job to protect you. Well it's not really my job but I've decided to do it anyway because as much as your father likes to pretend he can, he can't watch for you all by himself."

"Well he won't have to," She said, "I'll make my mother believe."

This seemed to amuse him, "How are you going to do that?"

"I'll tell her everything."

"She won't believe you, Emma. She's under a curse and one's that not meant to be broken yet."

Emma started crying, "But true love can break a curse, if I can make her believe-"

"And it'll break this one," he promised, "Probably. Just not yet. But until then…Rumpelstiltskin is the only one that can keep you safe as long as he's supposed to and I do think he cares about you…maybe he even loves you."

"Monsters don't love, he said so."

"Monsters love," Jefferson told her, "I was a monster once, I should know."

She watched him, "Then why doesn't he believe that?"

"Well, perhaps your father is scared he'll get hurt."

Emma looked at him, "I would never hurt my dad."

"Then why are you running away?"

Emma stopped and looked down, truly ashamed, "I didn't mean to. I just want my mom."

"I know," he told her and she thought he really meant it, "I know."

He held out his hand and Emma took it. She didn't know why but she trusted him, "Are you taking me home?"

"Yes," he said, "I think you and the man that adopted you need to have a few more talks before you decide on what you're going to do."

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Rumpelstiltskin rushed around the house and gathered his things that he would need to find Emma. He was still suffering from being sick and the medicine he'd taken hadn't allowed him to think clearly. He had just barely registered that she was gone before he found himself barreling down the stairs at 11:30 at night.

He didn't know where she was going. She could be going anywhere…to the mayors, the Mary Margaret's. Oh he really hoped that it was Mary Margaret's, she wouldn't be as stupid as the go to the mayors.

He hoped.

He was really hoping that she was stupid enough to run away but she had.

No, she wasn't stupid. She was scared. She was doing what a child did when they were scared and there was no parent to comfort them. They ran.

And it's not like she didn't know any better. She had him as an example of course and he was a coward in himself.

He dressed in enough clothes to at least keep him warm and he grabbed his keys. It'd started snowing again; if he didn't hurry then the snow would get worse and cover Emma's tracks.

He was down the stairs and headed to the garage in the back when the teal car pulled up in the driveway. He felt his blood run cold when he saw Jefferson climb out and he walked right up to him, "

Rumpelstiltskin could really use his gun right now.

"Where is she?" he demanded angrily. He wasn't even going to pretend to make nice. If Jefferson bothered to come down from his house on the hill then it had to do with the fact that Emma was now gone.

"She's safe, she's in the car."

"What did you do?" Rumpelstiltskin demanded. He could beat the hatter, he didn't like him near his daughter and he certainly didn't trust him swooping in every time Emma strayed off the map. It just seemed like he was just waiting until Rumpelstiltskin screwed up so that he could take her

"I listened to her," Jefferson snapped, "I brought her home."

Rumpelstiltskin swallowed his pride. He wanted to tell him to leave and take that magical hat with him but he had to admit that this time it wasn't because of Emma's safety, "I suppose I owe you twice now, Jefferson. Question is; what do I give a man that has everything."

"Not everything," Jefferson said and pain crossed his face, "But you can't give me what I want, can you? It'd tip of Regina and her…guardians might not approve."

"Then what do you want?" '

Jefferson hesitated, "Emma needs someone besides you to help her with this. She's going to need her own ally that can prove as a confidant for what she's going through. IF she doesn't have that…if she doesn't have someone to talk to when she's older then it might…let's just say that being lonely is a terrible thing."

"Indeed." Rumpelstiltskin muttered. He knew personally, he had 300 years of it.

"If she wants to talk to me then I don't want you to interfere in any sort of friendship we have when she gets older?"

'Friendship?" Rumpelstiltskin tested. The last thing he wanted was for Jefferson to start hitting on his daughter the minute she was old enough to have a boyfriend his age.

"Friendship," he promised, "I've seen Emma since she was a baby, and it'd be too odd."

"Very well, I'll see what I can allow," he said. He didn't like it but Jefferson was going to interfere in his life and Emma's no matter what he said or did. And Rumpelstiltskin already owed him twice; this would be a quick way to settle the debt.

But he didn't trust him alone with Emma.

But he also knew that Emma hadn't been hurt when she was with Jefferson. If anything he kept her out of Regina's claws.

He would endure it, for now.

"But if you do anything to endanger Emma or what I'm trying to do…then that relationship ends and I come for your head," he said, "Now please, let me see my daughter."

"She's worried that you're going to be angry at her," Jefferson told him.

Rumpelstiltskin ignored him and opened the passenger door. Emma held that cursed hat in her lap. She stared at it with tears streaming down her face. Her body was tensed as she was waiting for the verbal onslaught that she was probably expecting him to give her

Rumpelstiltskin wanted to wrap his arms around her, he wanted to let her know that he shared her pain and tell her that everything was going to be alright fi she just trusted him. But he wasn't going to do that. Not in front of Jefferson at least.

He felt his jaw tremble regardless and he rested his hand on the side of her face, "Sweetheart…"

Emma reluctantly tore her eyes away from the hat and then looked at him, "I'm scared."

"I know," he said, "Trust me, I know."

Her face crumbled, "Daddy-."

He pulled her against his chest as soon as she muttered the words. Emma wrapped her arms around his neck and started crying again. He forgot Jefferson, standing in the snow, missing his own daughter while Rumpelstiltskin made mental promises to a child that wasn't even his.

But that hardly mattered. He had a long way to go with Emma but just for a minute…just for a second at least….Emma accepted him


	19. Chapter 19

A year passed. They celebrated Emma's 8th birthday and in the months afterwards, Rumpelstiltskin was reminded more and more that time was slipping away.

There was still an innocence to Emma that would only fade as she grew older but after the night he had to tell her the truth…it seemed to age her beyond her years. She was a lot more aloof now. She didn't form bonds with the other children that she was temporarily the same age with.

After that night, she stopped calling him 'daddy'. She called him 'dad' now. He had to say that he preferred the former. He would give anything to hear it one more time.

Thanksgiving came with another biting winter. Only eight years here and Rumpelstiltskin wasn't sure of how much of the aches and pains that came with his body and age he could bear. This was one thing that he hadn't envied about being mortal.

"Emma!" he screamed as he prepared the turkey, "Are you done setting the table?"

"Yeah!" she called from the living room.

He looked over to see that Emma had set it alright, but crookedly. He let it pass though. She was watching the parade on the television. IT was just one of the many things that this world had to offer that she'd never be able to reach.

Emma came into the kitchen a few minutes later, he gave her a small smile, "Did you take a bath?"

"Yes."

"Clean up the living room?"

"Yes."

"And the hallway?"

"Yes."

He put a hand on her hair; he didn't know why he was so nervous about this. It was just going to be another dinner. He and Mary Margaret and Emma had had plenty of those before, why did today make any difference?

Because it was one of the first official ones they'd had with Emma knowing exactly what was going on.

"Emma, this is going to be important that you remember to keep the ruse up," he told her.

"I know."

"Because if you call her 'mom' like you have been doing when it's just you and I Then it could blow this whole thing."

"I won't," she said and looked burdened, "Dad, I know, I play this game every day in case someone's watching."

That made him feel even guiltier. HE was reminded every day when Emma was with him about the risk to her and the risk to him and his own plans if one of them slipped up and Regina found out about it. He tried not to think about it but what Emma just said reminded him that while he could shut his doors and relax…Emma was surrounded by more people than he was every day. She had to keep the charade up _constantly. _

"Oh Emma, I'm sorry," he whispered and smoothed her hair back.

He pushed her hair back over her shoulders and straightened her shirt.

"I have something for you," Emma said finally.

That got his attention. Emma had been asking for an increase in her allowance for the past four months. He hadn't given it to her because her grades weren't something that would allow an increase.

She pulled out a small jewelry box that he recognized as one of the ones that belonged to the charlatan jewelry seller down the street. He had the audacity to think that he was competition.

His rings were made of stones from their homeland though.

He opened it to see that was what it was. One of the stones that was in the deeper part of the mines that could change colors when the sun hit it just right.

He slipped it on the ring finger of his right hand. A perfect fit, "I think this is the best gift that anyone's ever given me."

She knew how old he was, so the pride on her face was unmistakable.

He kissed her cheek and hugged her. Emma kissed him back, "I don't know when your birthday is…because you say you don't remember either.

"Well perhaps after Thanksgiving dinner, we'll sit down and figure one out," he promised and looked up when he heard a knocking at the door, "That must be your mother."

He limped over to answer the door and Mary Margaret smiled and held up a basket of rolls, "Am I too late?"

"No," he gave her a welcoming smile, "No, you're right on time."

He let her in and walked beside her a few steps before someone knocked again. Mary looked over her shoulder and probably copied the same confused look that he had.

A beaming Jefferson was on the other side of the door.

"Oh gods," he muttered, "No."

"Emma invited me," Jefferson told him, "Besides, we need to talk. It's important."

"Hello!" Mary said from down the hall.

Jefferson smirked, "Do I smell sweet potatoes?"


	20. Chapter 20

When Rumpelstiltskin had gotten Emma sat down with Mary Margaret to watch what was left of the parade, he went to the kitchen where he found Jefferson tasting the rolls, "You know, these aren't so bad. I can't figure out how they have this much taste and remain this fluffy, what's your secret?"

Rumpelstiltskin took a breath, he was no in the mood to deal with this man ruining his day, "What are you doing here, Jefferson?"

Jefferson grew serious, "I've been trying to get ahold of you for a week, we're in trouble."

Rumpelstiltskin barely glanced at him. He knew the man was lonely but he wasn't about to waste his time to be best friends with him. Any time close to him meant he risked the hatter to have more time with Emma. If Jefferson saw something important, he could climb down off his little hill to see him.

"What is it?"

"When we were first dropped here, I sort of established some contacts in town. Some willing, some not. Mr. Glass is loyal to Regina but he folds like a cheap suit if you get enough drinks in him-."

"Get on with it," he muttered. Maybe he could get the madman out of here before Mary Margaret thought he was trying to pair them up or some such nonsense.

"Regina is looking into Emma's adoption."

Rumpelstiltskin's head shot up, "What?"

"She thinks there's something suspicious about how you adopted a child right after the arrival even though you spent your false memories disliking children. Way to go," he leaned in closer, ignoring Rumpelstiltskin's personal space, "She's going to figure it out."

"She won't. The curse will prevent her from putting the pieces together."

"Are you sure about that?" Jefferson challenged, "If your little contingency worked then why has she made it this far in the investigation."

"And how far has she made it?" Rumpelstiltskin demanded, "Why wait a week before you came down here to tell me that my daughter could be in danger?"

"Because not only have I made connections in this town but also out of it which is hard considering we can't leave. Thank you for that one too," Jefferson spat, "I've been setting everything up to stave off Regina's investigation but I Need some things from you as well. Your Mr. Gold has connections of his own I take it?"

"Yes."

"Then I suggest you start forging, because in case you are wrong and Regina realizes that Emma is as old as this curse to the exact date we arrived here then Emma's in trouble. She's never had an official birthday party here, has she?"

"No," he said quickly.

"Good," Jefferson said, "That'll probably be what saves us."

"I'll make a few calls tonight," Rumpelstiltskin muttered.

"You better because if Regina finds out what you did, the only way to stop her from hurting Emma would be to kill her. And I don't think you want that on your hands. Murder is so…messy here when one isn't magical. I'd hate for you to end up in a cage again, Rumpelstiltskin."

He feigned an innocent look but Rumpelstiltskin stared him down and replied with his own barb, "You either."

That wiped the smirk off Jefferson's face and he straightened up when Emma came into the kitchen.

"Emma," Rumpelstiltskin said feigning a happiness of his own to mask his worry, "Child, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see when we were going to eat, I was hungry," she said and looked at both of them, "Is everything okay?"

"Of course," Rumpelstiltskin smiled, "Jefferson and I were just talking about the pony that he's going to buy you."

Jefferson glared at him but didn't say anything. After all, he had been suggesting to Rumpelstiltskin that he needed to stop playing family and start training Emma at an early age.

Emma looked like her birthday came early, "REALLY?!"

Jefferson gave a quick smile at her and then glared at Rumpelstiltskin when Emma raced to the living room to tell Mary Margaret, "You're going to regret that one."

Rumpelstiltskin shot him daggers of his own, "You keep interfering in my family. I regret it already."

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"Maybe we should all talk about what we're thankful for," Mary said as they all ate dinner in silence.

Rumpelstiltskin and Jefferson looked up at the exact same time with what Rumpelstiltskin guessed was probably the exact same expression on their faces, "What?"

Mary turned to Jefferson, "Well, I'm always trying to get Mr. Gold to…to participate in the spirit of the holiday but he doesn't…he…always refuses."

Jefferson chewed on the turkey, "Then why do you spend Thanksgiving here?"

"Well because he invites me," she said and blushed, "And I don't have anyone else."

"Oh my, that's sad," Jefferson said, "You would think he would be nicer."

Mary looked frantically at Rumpelstiltskin and Emma, "Not that I…wouldn't want to spend time with the both of you…I'm sorry that obviously came out wrong."

"Obviously," Rumpelstiltskin muttered.

"I know what I'm thankful for!" Emma said boldly, "I'm thankful Jefferson's here. Because one day I'm going to catch up to his age and marry him!"

Jefferson spit out a bit of his drink and Rumpelstiltskin was pretty sure he was the first Dark One in history to choke on absolutely nothing. Mary Margaret looked like she would rather be anywhere else BUT there.

And the table was immediately plunged into awkward silence.


	21. Chapter 21

As everyone looked at each other awkwardly, Rumpelstiltskin was unsure about what he should do. A part of him wanted to laugh it off because she looked so darned proud of herself. The other part of him wanted to grab her and pull her out of the kitchen as fast as his legs could carry both of them and straighten out that line of thinking right now.

He NEVER had to deal with this with Bae.

Jefferson looked at him like he had something to be ashamed of and Mary Margaret was blushing the brightest he'd ever seen a female blush and he would know about that. He'd certainly exerted his power when he invaded their space or put his hands on them to make them feel uncomfortable.

"Oh, look at that," Jefferson said, "I'm all out of something to drink…I'm going to go…get some more."

Rumpelstiltskin glared at him. He was responsible for this somehow; Rumpelstiltskin knew he had to be. He felt his hand closed on his cane, "I'll join you."

As soon as they got past the swinging door, Jefferson turned and just barely avoided getting slammed in the face with Rumpelstiltskin's cane, "Hey easy there! I don't think Emma would want you to beat up her husband to be."

He felt himself getting angrier and he wanted to beat the boy senseless, "Was that supposed to be funny?"

"Not really, but it was the first thing that came to mind when you're swinging weapons at me."

"What did you put in her mind?!" Rumpelstiltskin demanded, "And I swear that you better answer that carefully and I better like it or I'll do to you what any father would do to protect their daughter-."

"Nothing!" Jefferson protested, "What, you think I like the idea that your eight year old fantasizes about me being her arm candy? I wouldn't have even come here tonight if the whole problem with Regina hadn't reared its head. I just wanted a free meal too. I don't put these weird thoughts in Emma's head! I just want to guide Emma. I'm going to keep her safe, I promise."

"Yeah, I'll bet when she turns 18, you'll be more than happy to offer your assistance," Rumpelstiltskin spat, "Have you forgotten that I knew you since you were twelve years old? I remember how you treated women."

"I'm not that man anymore," Jefferson reminded him, "I've changed."

"No one changes," Rumpelstiltskin said, "Not permanently."

"We'll see about that," Jefferson muttered, "I have no intentions for your daughter except getting her to revive the portal to get my daughter and myself home. That's all I've ever wanted and I've done my best to be honest with you and as you keep trying to assault me verbally and physically. We had an agreement when I brought back your daughter last year. I expect you to keep it. And while I don't expect you to like keeping it, I do ask you to at least try to make this work. For Emma's sake. She thinks the world of you, I'm pretty sure that you're reluctant to trust me is just going to affect how she trusts me too."

Jefferson gave a mocking bow, "Thank you for dinner. Look forward to next year."

Rumpelstiltskin glowered at him until he went back to the dining room.

_For Emma's sake. She thinks the world of you. _

And despite the trouble with Emma's big mouth and Regina looking into the adoption papers…

That line made Rumpelstiltskin smile.

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Mary Margaret waited until the men had gone into the kitchen before she moved to Emma, "Emma-."

Emma looked confused, "Did I say something wrong?"

"No Emma, no….nothing that'll get you in trouble. IT's just that…Jefferson is a bit old for you, isn't he?"

Emma shrugged, "One day I'll be as old as him."

"One day you'll be the age he is today, yes, but he's just going to keep getting older…by the time you're his age now, he's going to be in his fifties Emma, maybe his sixties. He's going to be as old as your father."

Emma started to argue but something dawned on her, and she clamped her mouth shut. She looked away, "You just don't understand. And you won't until I'm older."

"Well then explain it to me," Mary tried to offer. She knew the child needed someone to talk to. She needed some guidance. In her mind, a child needed two things. Love and stability and she knew that Mr. Gold provided the latter and in his own way gave her the former as well. But it just wasn't the same. Emma was still so lonely. Mary tried to provide her with advice, that was why Mr. Gold had hired her but it seemed like with every amount of progress she made, he found a way to unravel it. Mary worried that Emma would grow up to be confused and lonely and so she promised herself that even if Gold fired her or decided that she was too old to have a babysitter then Mary would still be there for Emma.

Emma pouted and messed with the turkey on her plate, "Dad says that if I did, you still wouldn't get it."

Mary frowned, "What wouldn't I get?"

"Nothing," Emma said and the table was plunged into more silence.

The door opened and Jefferson walked out, "I have to go. Thank you both for the lovely dinner."

"So soon?" Mary asked. Well it was better than how most of her dates went. Or at least that was what she was guessing was happening. She hadn't known that the rich guy on the hill and Mr. Gold knew each other but she supposed it made sense since they were both rich and didn't have much to do with anyone. Maybe they formed a club or something.

She didn't really see Mr. Gold as the type of guy to try and match her with anyone either but she couldn't think of any other reason as to why he'd been invited. He was attractive she supposed…he seemed a bit off kilter in the couple of times that they'd shared a couple of words. She did have to say that it was an interesting choice. The man that she hadn't expected to set her up on a date gave her a chance to have a date with a man that she didn't expect to date. Oh, did that make sense?

"I just have some things that I had at my house," he said, "It was very nice to say more than two words with you this time."

Mary smiled, waiting for him to suggest they have coffee but he turned around and started towards the entrance of the house.

Emma pulled herself out of her chair and ran after him, "Emma!"

"What's going on?" Mr. Gold asked.

"She ran after her Jefferson," Mary stood up, "I'll get her."

"No," Mr. Gold said gently and sat in his chair, "She'll be fine. He won't let anything happen to her."

"But-."

"Just have dinner, Mary. I worked for hours on this meal. She'll come back when she says goodbye"

Mary reluctantly picked up the fork and bit into the turkey.

And now it was cold.

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Emma ran out on the porch and watched as Jefferson descended the stairs, "I'm sorry!"

He stopped at the sound of her voice and turned, "And what do you have to be sorry about?"

She looked down, "I think what I said was wrong."

He smiled and walked back over to her, "Emma, do you understand why us getting married when your older could never happen?

"I don't know," she said, "You're not gonna age like Mary thinks you will and you know who I am and so it won't be a lie."

"But the curse isn't going to last forever, Emma. And then everyone will start aging and then you can marry whoever you want."

"But I'll be 28!" she argued, "That's old!"

He smiled, like what she said was funny. Emma didn't understand it. Old age wasn't something to joke about, "It's not so old Emma."

What did he know? He was probably past that age.

Oh, she was going to marry an old guy.

"Emma," he said and put a hand on her shoulder, "I've known you since you were a baby. I've watched you and kept you safe and so no matter how old you're going to get…you're still going to be that little girl that tried to wear my hat when you were three and it fell past your head."

Emma frowned, "That's almost like what dad says."

"Good!" he said quickly and held her shoulders, "Good. Keep remembering that. Don't forget the fact that I remind you of your father but am more like the Uncle that understands you and you secretly like better."

She watched him, 'Will you please come in? It's cold outside and that house is too big."

"I can't," he told her, "I really do have to go. I have some things to do for your father."

He gave her a small hug and tapped his finger against her nose, "Be good Emma. It might rub on your father."

Emma watched him climb in his car and watched as he disappeared down the street.


	22. Chapter 22

The time seemed to pass Rumpelstiltskin by and then he was faced with the most terrifying threat he'd ever seen in his life.

Hormones.

Emma turned twelve and it seemed like his entire quiet life was flipped upside down. Emma turned athletic and spent that school year signed p for every sports activity that she could find that WASN'T cheerleading.

Emma also turned boy crazy. She realized that she was filling out in places that girls tended to fill out during those impressionable years and the boys her age were noticing too. It wasn't until a bit later and the mouth of Mary Margaret herself that he realized that she wasn't signing up for those sports to train herself to be the savior. She was doing it because she liked how the shorts and tight shirt made her look and the attention she got from boys. He'd seen dogs that were in less heat than Emma seemed to be.

And then there was how she and the other girls treated each other. Emma was a tomboy through and through much to his amusement and chagrin at differing times. And while she disliked the 'girly' things that the others did like putting on makeup or watching those repetitive romantic comedies that filled seats up in the theatre, that didn't stop his daughter from putting 'like' and 'totally' in front of about every other word and gushing about who was 'cute' and who she'd date when she got old enough for him to let her have a boyfriend. She had each boy ready for every grade in case he relented and let her have one before she was eighteen.

Boys were so much easier to raise than girls.

It wasn't all bad though, that wasn't the case at all. He and Emma still had a close bond and a mutual understanding. She accepted that she had to break the curse thanks to her belief that she was trapped in the town just like the rest of them. That was never the problem. What the problem was they kept facing though was Emma's need to find herself and her independence outside being a savior. But he knew that her spreading herself as thin as she could so that she could experience everything she could.

"I'm not going to be the savior in a town of fairy tale characters forever, dad," she said, "One day the curse is going to be broken and then we'll go home and none of this will ever be experienced by us again. I want to indulge while I can."

He didn't tell her that there was a chance they couldn't go home. Not yet. He could feel the dark one's evil still pulsing in his veins. The magic that connected the two worlds was still alive just under the surface. It wouldn't be the case if that world was completely gone.

But there might be a chance that they didn't go back. At least not without Baelfire. But in case they didn't go back at all…he took comfort in the fact that Emma was trying to expand her horizons here so that she didn't get disappointed in case returning to the old world didn't work.

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Emma shifted from one foot to another as she stood outside the door and waited for school to start.

The mayor was supposed to be coming here for career day. Even though her father had risked his own neck to forge her adoption papers and make her eight months older than she actually was, Emma was still worried. Her father didn't think that she really understood what Regina was capable of, but she did. And Emma knew that any move that she made or any word that slipped out could unravel the whole thing. And that was something that she wasn't sure her father understood. Not completely. He didn't view her as a danger; he viewed her as a pawn that he could manipulate at any given moment. Emma on the other hand viewed her as the human threat that she was.

And Emma had to sit there and try not to fidget as the mayor droned on about how they could make something of their lives even though she knew that they wouldn't because they were stuck like this for the next sixteen years.

The only one that would be making something of themselves was Emma and not in the way that Regina wanted.

Emma heard giggling and looked to her right to see that Maddy Jenkins and her group of cheerleading friends were surrounding Paige…or…Grace. Emma straightened up and watched carefully. There was no fear on her face but there was apprehension.

Without thinking, Emma dropped her backpack and strode purposefully toward them. Jefferson watched his daughter but Emma went to school with her. And since Jefferson kept Emma safe, there was no reason why Emma couldn't do the same for his daughter.

Emma wrestled her way between the girls and moved to stand in front of Grace, "Back off."

"Oh it's the little rich girl," Maddy said disdainfully. This wasn't the first time she and Emma had words, "This is a private conversation, Emma. Why don't you go back to that little bench that you're so used to occupying by yourself?"

Emma held her gaze in the stare that Emma was sure she'd learned from her father after years of watching him, "Leave Paige alone."

"And what are you going to do if I don't?"

Emma's fist hit Maddy so hard in the face that it took Emma a second before she even realized she'd punched her. It sort of felt good actually; she had it a long time coming.

One of Maddy's friends tackled Emma from the side and Emma cracked her head on the pavement. Emma brought her elbow up and slammed it against the girl's nose and rolled so that she was sitting on top of her and punched her again.

Her father's bodyguard HAD taught her a few things.

"That's enough!"

Emma didn't know the principal was behind her until she felt his arms around her waist and he was pulling her off. Emma kept her hand wrapped in Maddy's friend's hair until she was pulled completely off and only then did she reluctantly let go.

"This is not be TOLERATED," he screamed, "All of you, my office right now-."

Emma felt someone put their hand on her shoulder. She thought it was a teacher getting ready to lead her in that direction, so she thought nothing of it.

"Principal Blackwell, I saw the whole thing."

Emma felt her blood run cold when she heard the voice. She tensed and looked up in horror as she saw that it wasn't a teacher that held her shoulder.

It was Regina.

"That being said," Regina purred, "Perhaps Miss Gold did overreact, perhaps you should let me talk to her."


	23. Chapter 23

Emma was in trouble, she was in trouble and her father didn't have any idea where she was going to be and Regina was in the office with her and one wrong look…one wrong thing and it was all going to come crashing down because she was stupid.

Her father had warned her about fighting. He'd warned her about not blending in. But he was proud of how active she was even though she was a B student and just adequate in everything she signed up for, so she didn't really take him all that seriously.

And now she realized her mistake. Her father had been right when he wanted to keep her out of school and hire a private tutor. Because now she was trapped in the same room with the woman that wanted to kill her and while Regina wasn't aware of it yet, Emma was terrified.

The principal had protested when Regina had insisted on bringing Emma into a room alone to talk to her, but she'd shot him one of those looks that her father only THOUGHT Emma wasn't old enough to understand and ushered her into an empty room that wasn't going to be used at the first period of the day.

"That's quite an uppercut you have there, Emma," Regina practically purred. Emma felt like a canary and the cat was circling her, "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Anyone can punch someone," Emma muttered and looked at her feet.

"Defending that girl…what's her name? Paige isn't it?"

Emma didn't move, her muscles were tensed and ready to run in case she needed too. Her name was Grace but Emma wasn't supposed to know that.

Regina sat across from her, "Why did you do it?"

"It was the right thing to do." Emma wanted to add that Regina wouldn't know what the right thing was if it came up and stood in front of her but she knew she was just asking to get herself caught if she did that.

"The right thing," Regina sneered, "Hard to believe you're from the same family."

Emma looked up, "As who?"

Regina looked at her like she was insane, "Well your father of course."

Emma tensed; Regina didn't know Snow White was her mother. She wasn't thinking! Of course she wouldn't be referring to her mother!

Even if her mother had done absolutely NOTHING wrong.

"He's not even my real father," Emma said and focused on the floor again, "I'm adopted."

"Oh, is that what he told you?" Regina sneered.

Emma glanced up, "I _am _adopted."

"Trust me, child, I've known your father for FAR longer than you have and I know that he wouldn't have adopted you because he felt like spreading his influence to the world and giving you your best shot. He _is _biologically your father."

Emma knew it was a lie. She was just trying to mess with Emma's emotions as a way to bother her dad. It would've held a bit more water if Jefferson hadn't confirmed it and she hadn't seen the papers herself.

"There was a bit of a summer where we didn't see him," Regina stood and touched a growing flower that was in the room, "He went on a bit of a…vacation if you will when he met your mother. He told me that your mother was desperately in need of some help and he agreed to help her…in exchange for her giving you to him when you were born. He took you from your poor sobbing mother when he was done with her. And well…now here we are. He got the child he always wanted. The one that he'd been bartering for for…well a lot longer than you can imagine."

Emma glared, "Then why did he say I was adopted?"

"Who knows what goes on in that sick man's mind?"

She was lying through her teeth and both of them knew it.

Then why was Emma crying?

And her father couldn't do anything. If he did then he might lose his temper and throw this little game that they were playing.

But he could make her very VERY sorry in other ways.

Emma pulled herself together…she wasn't going to look weak in front of her enemy. She was the daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White and she was raised by Rumpelstiltskin and she wasn't going to let some powerless witch scare and hurt her.

"I don't believe you," Emma told her once she distanced herself emotionally from the problem. Just like Rumpelstiltskin had taught her to do, "You're a liar."

Regina visibly recoiled from the seething hate and blunt words from the child and looked up when the door flew open and slammed against the wall.

Rumpelstiltskin stood there, his face was no longer that mask of indifference that he kept to hide his true identity. It was one of seething rage that Emma had honestly NEVER seen before.

"What are you doing with my daughter?" he demanded and Emma saw his hand tighten on his cane like he was going to use it for more than just walking.

"Just talking to her, Mr. Gold. You should be proud; your daughter knows the difference from right and wrong. It appears that you've done something right."

"And it's quite the pity that you did something wrong."

"Dad," Emma tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. That was funny; she didn't remember walking over there, "_Daddy_."

He looked down at the combination of the term of endearment that she hadn't used in years and the hand that she slipped in his. She had known that would get his attention because it would remind him of her as a small child, she was turning into him after all, "It's okay, it's okay. I'm fine. I'm not hurt. It's fine."

She tried to communicate with him, she hadn't revealed anything and they could continue on. At least she didn't think she had. She wasn't an adult yet, and she wasn't near as manipulative as these two were. It was impossible to know, really.

"You've been crying," he noted.

"I just want to go home," she whispered, "Please dad, let's just go home."

Her father's hand tightened on hers and he shot another glare at Regina, "We're not done."

"Wonderful to see you again, Mr. Gold," Regina said with a smirk, "It does appear that I was wrong about you, Emma. It does appear that you are from the same family."

The glare that she shot Rumpelstiltskin made Emma's blood run cold. Her father pulled on her wrist and she nearly stumbled as he pulled her out the door, down the steps, and into the car. He pulled the car away from the school and down the street before he started in with the rant.

"Fighting, Emma. Fighting again. How many times do I have to tell you that violence isn't the way to go about getting what you want?"

"I know," she said, "Your extremely complicated head games are."

"Don't take that tone of voice with me! Look where you're fighting got you, three days suspension, they're talking about kicking you off your little volleyball team which is a likely possibility and you were in there with-."

He stopped and she saw the pain and fear on his face surface. He was scared? Her father? The one that had told her since childhood that he wasn't scared of anything?

He turned and grabbed her head in both his hands tightly. Emma squirmed to try and get out of his grasp.

"Don't you do that again!" he told her harshly, "Don't you know what she would've done to you?"

She already had.

Her father rested his forehead against hers and she almost felt the tension fall away from him now that she was safe.

"What did Regina say to you?" he demanded.

Emma looked away, "She lied. She said that you were my real father and you'd taken me from my mother. It was all a head game. Just like you've tried to teach me and just like you taught her to do."

Her father had never told her that he'd taught Regina, but it was the only thing that made sense. After all, Regina had to learn to practice magic from somewhere and her thinly veiled hints that she'd known Rumpelstiltskin sort of confirmed that.

Her dad ignored the barb and pressed on the gas, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Emma rested her head on the passenger window and watched the rain start to splatter against it, "No. Why should I want to talk about something that wasn't even the truth?"

Her mother had given her to Rumpelstiltskin because she loved her. Emma didn't need to know anything different; truth or lie.

And she never wanted to remember the happenings of this day again.


	24. Chapter 24

It was midnight and Emma couldn't sleep.

Regina's vicious words just played over and over in her mind, completely non-stop. She knew they were a lie. She had seen enough things in her twelve years of existence to understand that her father as telling her the truth.

It still hurt. It was still heavy on her chest and she couldn't shake that burden off no matter how hard she tried.

She knew that her father worried about her. When they got home, Emma had gone to her room and shut the door. She kept hearing him walking in front of her room like he kept making himself brave enough to come up to see her but then he chickened out at the last minute.

She couldn't say she blamed him, Emma didn't even understand why she was so upset. It wasn't real, it was all a lie…her mother loved her enough to give her to Rumpelstiltskin to be raised, and Rumpelstiltskin loved her like she was his own. She KNEW that already. She was his daughter. Not some object to be taken and used as a weapon in their little rivalry.

But wasn't that pretty much what she was? Their savior? The living breathing human weapon against Regina?

The small revelation sent tears down her face and she curled up in a tight little ball on her bed.

No! She was more than a weapon used to fight Regina. She was loved. Even the Dark Imp loved her and he used everyone as a pawn.

_What makes you think that you're so different? _

Emma tried to block out the little voice in her head. That little ringing doubt that she'd tried never to listen to until now.

_You were never REALLY anyone's daughter, were you Emma? Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't have bothered about you if you weren't the savior and your parents threw you in a wardrobe to go to a different land and hope that you could defeat Regina by yourself. You were just a baby and they thought of you more as a weapon against evil than their own child. _

All her life Emma had never thought like this. She had known what she was supposed to do. And she accepted it because she was the hero and heroes defeated evil.

But what was the point if no one really loved her the way they should? Her 'savior' status had ruined everything.

The door opened and Emma felt her muscles tense up. The telling sound of her father's cane announced that it was him. Emma kept her back to the door and closed her eyes. Maybe if she could pretend like she was asleep then he would leave her alone.

"Emma," he said with resignation, "I see your eyes moving underneath your eyelids, I know you're awake.

She reluctantly opened her eyes, she could never fool him.

"Regina's a vicious viper, you know," he told her gently, "You don't need to listen to a word she says."

"Was my mother sobbing and begging you not to take me like she said?"

"Regina wouldn't' know, she wasn't there."

"You're not answering my question," Emma pointed out without looking at him.

The bed dipped under his weight when he sat down, he gave a heavy sigh, "It was never…my first intention to take you from your mother. In fact, the last thing I wanted when I arrived in this land was to care for a screaming baby by myself. Children…tend not to like me because of the curse that I bore."

Emma was never really sure of this curse that he'd had that he kept referring to. He hardly EVER talked about his past unless it had something to do with Regina or her parents and even then, he tried to keep it vague.

"The plan was to put your mother in the portal," he continued, "And at the time needed, when the rest of us arrived, I was going to wake up, find her, and use my money and resources to make sure that she was taken care of as she birthed and raised you. At least that was the plan when she first came to me and she carried you. I give you my word Emma; I am not your biological father. Regina was saying that to hurt you. She's vicious and she's jealous when someone has more happiness than she does. Since that's not part of what she wanted the curse to give her, she's going to try and drive a wedge in the relationship that you and I share."

Emma just listened and wished he would get on with the story. She had never heard this version of it before. He had always just told her that her mother gave her up out of love, not the desire to abandon the consequence of a choice that she didn't want.

"Your mother…was going into contractions when she talked to me. And when I realized what was happening, I Know I had to act fast to get you to safety. IT's a dark and dangerous world out there Emma. I wanted you to have some stability in it."

"Was my mother sobbing and begging you not to take me?"

"At first," He said honestly and Emma felt her heart break, "But when I promised her that I would allow a relationship between the two of you, she became more inclined to agree to my terms."

"So, that's it," Emma whispered, "I'm still just a toy in your little game."

"Don't you ever think that," he said angrily, "Thinking those things is just poisoning your mind for future bitterness and I will not have that. Yes, I thought of you as a pawn at first but that changed the first night I cared for you."

"Why?" Emma challenged, "Because I'm your savior and you knew that raising me with some love was the only way that I could function in this mess that you and my parents forced me into?"

"It changed because you were the first child in centuries that willingly went to sleep in my arms!" he practically screamed, "It changed because unlike all the other children, you _trusted _me. I know it may sound silly for you and you'll never probably understand and neither will anyone else in this world but…the moment you fell asleep in my arms…the moment you rested your head on me and went to sleep with a sigh of contentment that was when everything changed and I wanted to protect you. And not because you were the savior but because in that moment, you were _my _daughter."

She'd hurt him. She could see it in his eyes and she felt the guilt of what she'd said weighing down on him.

She looked down to hide her tears. She hated crying in front of him. It made her look weak, "I'm sorry."

Rumpelstiltskin gently placed his hands on her face and kissed her temple, "There is still much that you don't understand. You're still a child Emma, no matter what destiny and the rest of us have saddled you with."

Emma wiped her tears away and stood from the bed.

He still had a way with words that ensured that she didn't hate him.

"May I go for a walk?" she asked.

"Where?" he demanded, his protectiveness shining through. It would annoy most children but after today, Emma was appreciative of it.

"The woods," she said, "I need to think. And I might go see Jefferson too."

Rumpelstiltskin tensed, like he always did when she brought up the Mad Hatter. Emma supposed that was natural given that her crush on him hadn't subsided from what she'd felt when she announced it four years ago. And she remembered her father implying that he wasn't exactly always the man that he was now. Emma wasn't exactly sure how much of that she bought though. NO one could make a complete 180 like he was hinting at. Even though Rumpelstiltskin had her for his morality pet (as Jefferson put it), he still found ways to gleefully make everyone's afraid of him.

But Rumpelstiltskin knew that Jefferson was Emma's confidant. She trusted him and he listened to her on days like this when it felt like her world was threatening to collapse and crush her.

The seconds stretched into an eternity. He really wanted to tell her no. She could see it on his face.

But instead he finally managed a small nod, "Well, I suppose he'll want to make sure you're alright and hear about his daughter."

Emma nodded, and grabbed her coat, "Thank you, dad."

"Make sure you're not seen," was all he said to her. It was always what he said when she slipped off to go see him.

Which was ridiculous anyway, she knew how to get from her house to his through the woods.

Besides, no one ever entered those woods, they all thought that part was haunted.

Just another barrier that Regina had used to block Jefferson from the rest of everyone.


	25. Chapter 25

Emma jogged up the stairs of the mansion and took a quick look around.

This was going to be her home one day…at least until she was of an age where Jefferson wasn't totally freaked out about how old she was. Which her father said wouldn't be until she was 50 but now that she was older, she was certain that he was exaggerating.

But then again, maybe not.

The lights were on when she had arrived, which meant that he was probably waiting for her. He probably saw what had happened today and knew that she was going to be here to see him sooner or later.

When he opened the door, she saw that his eyes were blearily. He had waited up for her or at least he tried to and then fell asleep.

"Well, if it isn't Storybrooke's little mixed martial art champion," he rubbed his eyes. Emma scowled which amused him briefly before he looked serious, "Regina didn't hurt you, did she?"

"No," Emma said, "Not really."

He looked down at her, "Your father didn't hurt Regina too badly, did he?"

"Almost."

He opened the door more so that she could come in, "Call your father, and let him know that you got here safely."

He followed me," Emma said, "In his car. He thinks I didn't notice but I did."

"Then he'll probably want to take you home after we talk."

She sat on the couch and nudged off her shoes. She liked the rug that he had on his floor, it was white and fuzzy and she didn't want it dirty. Maybe when they went back to the fairy tale land then he would bring this rug with him and the many babies they would have would learn to roll, and crawl, and walk on it. That would be nice.

"Do you think my dad loves me?" she asked.

Jefferson looked at her from his spot near the fireplace, "Well he's raised you for twelve years and bit my head off more times than I care to count and has come close to beating up several people who might threaten you, I would like to think that some of that is fatherly love."

Emma rested her chin on her knees, "He says he's a monster."

"He was," Jefferson confirmed, "And I wish that I could say that you changed that but other than him having his power stripped, and being slightly more withdrawn, he's not really that different."

"Do you think he's evil?"

Jefferson was careful with his answer, "I think that he's doing evil things…I don't know why or what his reasoning is and I doubt you will either until it's completely necessary for him to tell you. However I think here…and maybe slightly before you were born…some of the things that he did was to protect you. That's not to say that it's your fault though."

"Do you think he loves me enough to change when it's time for me to save everyone?"

Jefferson sat across from her, "You're not old enough to worry about these things."

"I have to worry about them!" she said, "When I saw him and how he was looking at Regina today when he got to the school- I thought he was going to kill her. It scares me sometimes with what I know that he can do"

Jefferson looked down guiltily, "You don't think your love for him and his love for you is going to save him?"

"What if he loves me?" Emma started and teared up, "But it won't be enough? What if when I turn 28 and my destiny goes against his agenda…what if we're put on opposing sides of everything? What if he turns back into what he was and I can't save him?"

Something she said seemed to strike Jefferson but she didn't understand why, "If he doesn't change for you…if he's not willing to stay and be the father that he needed to be and provide the emotional stability that you need as a father then he's not worth it."

Emma stared at him. She knew his story, it was in the book. However, they hardly talked about Grace; she knew that the topic was too hard for him to even think about.

"What happened to you and Grace wasn't your fault," she told him.

"Wasn't it?" He asked, "I should've known better than to get involved in that world again- her mother didn't come back and I took the same risks and paid the price."

Emma lowered her head, "I should go. It's cold outside and I imagine my dad's waiting for me."

"I do think he loves you," Jefferson said, "In his own little way."

"I hope so," Emma said and pulled on her shoes, "And you're wrong about how much you're worth as Grace's father. The fact that you're scared to take her away and wake her up to having two sets of memories is proof enough of that."

She expected him to call her a young child who didn't know what she was talking about but he was silent for a few minutes, "I don't condone you fighting, especially with Regina nearby. But you should know that I thank you for protecting her today."

Emma looked down; she didn't say anything because she wasn't sure what to tell him…

She slipped out of the front door and found her father's car parked outside. She wrapped her coat tighter around herself and ran to the heated automobile.

Her father was silent, "Remind me never to allow you to come to his house this late again."

She ignored him, "I love you."

He stopped what he was doing and looked at her. They said it to each other countless times over the years but this was one of the few that Emma had really thought about what her love and devotion as well as his love and devotion to her meant or might mean in the future

He gave her a small smile and kissed her cheek, "I love you too."

The ride back to the house was quiet after that. There was just nothing more to say

**A/N: Got started on a new story this week, it's called "The Greatest Irony" and it's a look into Jefferson's life story. Could use some love. Enjoy! **

** So do you guys think that Gold loves his daughter? **


	26. Chapter 26

When Rumpelstiltskin put Emma in high school, he sometimes went to bed with a headache because he banged his head into the wall at least every other day.

Emma discovered her feminine side. She stopped with the really athletic games and wore makeup and extremely tight jeans. Rumpelstiltskin wasn't exactly sure how she could move in those things. She looked like a stork with casts on both legs.

But other than her choice of makeup, extremely heavy false eyelashes and her choice of apparel. Emma was not a bad kid. She still made her B's in school and she listened to him and her riding lessons and self-defense lessons (the latter of which he supervised CLOSELY. It was more for Jefferson's protection than it was for Emma's. Emma was more subtle about her attraction to him, but she enjoyed wrestling around with him FAR more than she should.) were coming along nicely.

Everything was running smoothly….

Except for Algebra.

"Emma," he said with frustration in his voice, "It's rise over run, that's how you figure out the slope of this line of the graph."

"Can't I just figure out the equation? Do I honestly have to count little lines?"

He looked at the people that glanced at him around the diner. She had an hour for lunch and the test was today apparently and of course she hadn't told him anything about it until last minute which meant an hour long cramming session while she also tried to shove one of granny's hamburgers down her esophagus."

This was much easier when she was younger. She usually connected the dots by herself and only some prodding from him. He wasn't good at explaining these things…it wasn't in his nature to explain. He usually benefitted because of his clients lack of knowledge.

"Alright Emma," he said. This world's math was primitive to him anyway, as was its more advanced courses. What constituted as facts here were nothing more than theories over in his world that men thought about late at night when they were half asleep. He'd learned algebra, calculus, and physics half a dozen times in the 300 years that he'd been the Dark One, "You know that you're getting your answer, but tell me why."

Emma just stared at him like a sheep looking at an oncoming Ogre, "What?"

"Why is this important?

"Because I want to advance to Geometry?"

He put his palms over his eyes, "Emma, explain to me why this world does the equation like it does."

She shrugged, "I never asked why, I just put the numbers in the equation and hoped for the best."

"Emma Gold, what have I spent the past 14 years of your life teaching you to do?"

"Be a leader."

He was grateful that she didn't say 'be a buzz kill,' this time. He wasn't even certain he knew what that was, "Being a leader means that you question everything, you don't ask why. Because sometimes the information you get is faulty or misguided and the only way that you'll find that out is if you know how to ask questions for yourself."

"I don't even need algebra!" she protested with a mouth full of hamburger meat. Oh, it appeared everything he had taught her HAD been forgotten. If Snow White saw her acting like this then she would forget her fear of him and lead him out of the diner by his ear when she woke up.

"You don't need algebra?" he asked in amusement, "And how is that?"

"Because!" she finally swallowed, "Eventually we're going back to the Enchanted Forest, right? Well that land uses magic and not technology. And what do all these numbers and equations really do? They help scientists and engineers with their machines, right? And so there's no point in me learning something that I'll never use."

Oh, he knew excuses when he heard them, "Emma, there are scientists in the Enchanted Forest. I myself am a scientist."

"No, you're a chemist," her eyebrows knitted together like she was trying to think of something quickly, "Which is something FAR different!"

"I don't-," he laughed, "I don't think so."

"And really, what kind of equations do you have to do? You just mix, measure, and match potions. You don't need equations for that."

"You'd be shocked by how much of my work required I know this," he held up her text book.

"Well then YOU explain why the world does these equations the way they do," she said, "And I'll listen to what you say. Every word. I mean, that should thrill you, shouldn't it? I just said what every father in existence has ever said."

He shook his head at her proud look, "Hey, don't be a brat."

"And you should know from first-hand experience how this stuff works; I mean you're old enough to-."

"Are you implying that I actually knew the men and women that came up with this stuff?"

She shrugged, "Maybe? You like knowledge and they have knowledge."

"Alright, well Emma…first of all…I was never in this world until Regina cast the curse. Now, you know that," he'd made sure to keep his part in creating the curse quiet. Emma didn't need to know that he had a plan in ruining her family's life, "And the people that came up with all this in our land well…I didn't know them. I know this shocks you but there is such a thing as 'before my time'."

Emma smiled happily and took a drink from her soda.

"Hi Emma."

Rumpelstiltskin looked to his right and frowned in annoyance as the boy who cried wolf had snuck up on him. He was a bit older in reality than he was in the old tales…and he was Emma's age.

Emma smiled and blushed, "Hi Tommy!"

No! No, no, no, no, no.

The boy looked a bit nervously towards him, "Hi Mr. Gold."

"Hm," He gave a patronizing smile and didn't take his eyes off Emma as she shifted nervously and looked embarrassed.

"Are you ready for the algebra quiz today?"

"Sort of," she said awkwardly, "My dad's helping me."

"Yes, and we're quite busy now…so if you could just have the last ten minutes of your lunch hour somewhere else, we'd be much obliged," he said and Emma continued to fidget under his gaze.

When the boy practically ran across the diner to get away from him, Emma looked humiliated but it didn't little to make Rumpelstiltskin feel bad, "And who was your friend?"

"No one that you don't know about already," she said, "He likes me."

"And do you like him?" when she didn't answer, he continued taunting her, "What happened to poor Jefferson? He's going to cry in his pillow tonight now."

Emma blushed brighter, "Dad!

"He's no longer your endgame!"

"He's still my endgame," she protested, "But until he realizes that I'm going to be a woman one day…with _needs-"_

Rumpelstiltskin didn't know whether to lock her up or burst out laughing and humiliate her in front of everyone at the overly eager way she said '_needs'. _Where did she get this stuff?

"-then I have no choice but to date within my own class. And Tommy's cute…and unlike the rest of you, I only get one chance to do this so I'm making high school memorable."

"Emma," he said and thought of a new way to tease her, "I don't think that you fully understand the hormones your age has, am I going to have to give you 'the talk'?"

Emma blushed brighter, "Dad!"

"Because I don't think I like this 'making high school memorable' and 'having needs' nonsense that you're telling me," he leaned forward.

"Dad!" he was certain that she was going to turn into a tomato because of how red her face was, "I know that stuff already! You're too late!"

His gaze darkened, his teasing gone, "What do you mean too late?"

Her eyes grew in dread, "Not THAT kind of too late! The other kind!"

"I'm not sure I like where this conversation is going Emma."

"Dad!" she said in melodramatic exasperation that only teenagers found dramatic, "I know all that stuff already because you sent me to a public school and everyone here likes to pretend they're actually experts in…stuff like that."

He sat back with his cane in hand, "Ah."

"I hate it when you tease me and embarrass me in front of boys."

"No you don't," he said, "I'm doing you a favor."

Emma pouted, "I have a test to go do."

He was aware that she hadn't really studied due to his sudden interest in her love life. That was fine. Now she would learn to study so that she didn't have to endure this again and she wouldn't talk about who she considered dating in front of him. Either way, he won.

"Say hello to Tommy for me," he said in a singsong voice and Emma cringed as it carried across the diner for everyone to hear.

Oh, she wasn't going to talk to him for the rest of the day but that was worth it.

**A/N: Well, so lots of people believe that Rumpel loves his daughter. Got some nice feedback for that question. And while I do agree that he does, I don't think it's the selfless sacrificial love that other parents have demonstrated on this show. But I do think it's rather close. **


	27. Chapter 27

Sometimes Emma thought her emotions in regards to her mother were confusing. She loved her mother; there was no doubt about that. But she wondered if the immediate feelings she had when she interacted with Mary Margaret should be dismissed or taken into account.

Mary Margaret wore her mother's face, her mother was kicking around in there somewhere inside Mary Margaret's…brain or heart or soul…Emma wasn't sure which. However, Mary Margaret was NOT her mother. It was something that hit Emma like a ton of bricks every day that she looked at her. It was a terrible burden to bear…knowing that your mother was staring you right in the face and you wanted to cry and hug her and call her mom and rely on her emotionally and mentally and yet you couldn't because she didn't know that she was your mother.

And Mary Margaret saw herself as an advisor, guide, and teacher. Not a mother. So no matter how desperately Emma tried to steer their relationship into a mother/daughter territory, Mary Margaret always seemed to come away from it.

Her dad pretended to understand but she knew he did. Not really. Only Jefferson sort of knew but he didn't interact with his daughter daily. He had to see her from afar but he also knew that he couldn't run forward and hug her and call her by her name because it _wasn't _her name here. Once he had told her he envied her.

If he truly understood the burden she lived with every day, he would never say that.

So while Jefferson was the closest one, he still didn't really understand what she was going through.

"My dad tells me about my mom sometimes," Emma said once when she helped Mary Margaret fold her laundry. Emma was old enough to not need a babysitter anymore but her dad still made sure that she could interact with Mary. He said she'd learn responsibility by helping Mary around the house. He said that Emma had to pay for all those little sweaters that she spit up on as a baby and it was high time she worked for free.

Emma didn't mind.

Mary Margaret looked at her, "I didn't know that your dad knew your mother."

"He knew my real dad too," Emma said flippantly. He'd told her stories but it didn't count. She loved Charming as her father but that was it. As far as she was concerned, Rumpelstiltskin was her real dad.

"Well, tell me about them," Mary said happily.

Emma straightened up; she was going to be subtle about this. Mary Margaret would never know what was happening, "My dad said that she was a survivor, he said that she didn't always have the best life but she made the most out of it and she forgave the people that hurt her and she was…she was a hero. She helped save people."

Mary Margaret's face was unreadable and Emma was aware that she probably sounded like a babbling eight year old full of fantasies over the parents that more than likely abandoned her but she didn't care. She was on a roll.

Emma drew in a breath, "And my real- I mean, my biological dad is just like my mom, my adopted dad says that he was noble and he loves my mom and they always found each other which now that it's me saying it and not my dad…it sounds sort of stupid…but he was noble and brave and he stood up to people that were hurting others and…"

"Emma-," Mary Margaret said in concern.

It was then that Emma was aware that she was crying. She wiped the tears away from her face in frustration and searched her mother's face for any sign of recognition.

There wasn't any and the confused sympathetic look on Mary Margaret's face just made Emma even more upset. Her mother wasn't in there. Her mother would never hold her in these years in her life when she needed her. Her father that saved her life was asleep in a coma and would never…do whatever it was that noble fathers did.

And even though she'd had these realizations before, she certainly never thought about it to this extent.

_Mom, just wake up…PLEASE. _

Emma wiped the tears from her face, "I better go."

"Emma."

"I have studying to do," Emma said and sped up her walking, "I failed the last algebra test and dad will kill me if I fail this one-"

"Emma!"

Emma ignored her and practically ran down the stairs.

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Her father found her sitting on the playground that overlooked the water.

"It's been awhile since we've been out here," he said and sat on the castle playground next to her.

"How did you know where to find me?" she asked.

"Well, when you get upset, you like to be alone, so the places you usually go to are out and that either left the cabin that you found in the woods or this spot."

Emma didn't say anything. When she was a child and she was in trouble this was where she went to hide. Her father always found her here but she came to it regardless because she liked to be alone and the woods terrified her, "I don't want to be the savior."

"I know," He said. Emma looked at him, she heard regret in his voice, and saw pain in his eyes. But there was also determination in there as well. He didn't want her to do this either but she had no choice. She was the savior, destiny said so. And even if she refused then she was trapped her in a town with a woman that was going to figure out who she was sooner or later and kill her. Emma had no choice.

Emma drew her knees to her chest, "Will I survive this?"

"Yes," he said his voice full of resolve.

"Do you know that for sure? Does your destiny say so?"

"Emma, I give my word that no one will touch you," he said and looked at her, "They'd have to get through me first and everyone's terrified of me"

Emma smiled and kissed her father on the cheek.

"Do you want to tell me what happened today?" he asked and looked at her.

"Oh you know," she said and looked down, "Some days I'd just really want to meet my mom."

He sighed and wrapped his arm around her. Emma choked back tears and rested her head on her father's shoulder.

"You will," he promised, "You will."

Emma let a tear slide down her face.

"Emma?"

"Hm?"

"I know it's always been hard for you and I…I truly regret that. But I should let you know that raising you has always been something I never regretted. And I hope that one day when you find out everything I've done, then you'll remember that."

"You're not that man anymore," Emma said.

"I'm closer to that man than you tell yourself," he told her.

Emma studied him for a few minutes before she looked back at the water. Sometimes she wondered about the things that he alluded to when he was talking to her about his past and the kind of man that he had been or currently was.

And then other times she tried to squelch the feeling. Her father loved her and she loved him and he always thought himself lower than he actually was. Perhaps his thoughts and the stories about him in the book were exaggerations.

And if it wasn't, then she didn't see what else she could do but continue to try to convince him to change and be better.


	28. Chapter 28

When Emma was fifteen she was invited to Tommy's birthday party.

And really it wasn't that exciting when she thought about it, Tommy had the same party every year and invited all the same people and none of those people were anybody that she necessarily liked.

But Tommy and invited her and that was all that mattered in her eyes. Her father hadn't liked him because he was the boy that cried wolf and he was fifteen and her father could be overprotective and went out of his way to make sure she was bored.

And he wasn't going to teach her to drive until she was sixteen! Who did that?! Was the car secretly a dragon and he was worried that it was going to eat her or something? That car wasn't even cool! She wished her dad would get her a Volkswagen Bug. One that was yellow so that she could find it in parking lots! That would be amazing.

But when she told her father that, he practically laughed her out of the pawn shop and told her to find a job if she hated his 'beautiful' car so much.

And where was she going to work? Who was going to hire the girl whose father they paid rent to?

"Dad," Emma said that night that she was invited and kept the coat that her father had given her over the dress that Ruby let her borrow. Emma was only slightly smaller than Ruby but Ruby wore clothes that were far below her age anyway. At least that was what her father said and sometimes she wondered if he enjoyed it a little more than what he should, "I'm going out, I'll call you later."

"Alright," he muttered while pouring through some of his old books. He had told her once that he brought his entire library over to serve as the public one here. Sometimes he snuck over to get some books that he came to long for…Emma realized that some of them were the journals that he kept and he was slowly getting them back over time.

Just how old was he anyway?

Emma looked over her shoulder and saw him gazing at the picture of a pretty brown haired woman drawn on a parchment drawn on charcoal.

"Who's that?"

He slammed the book shut and turned to glare at her, "I thought you had somewhere to be."

"Right," she cleared her throat and hoped that he wouldn't ask where. She would get in trouble enough for going to this party if he found out but she was dead if she lied to him, "I have places to be which is where I'm going to be right…now."

She turned and walked out of the house before he could say anything. Her friend Sharon was waiting down the street in her car. Without a word Emma slipped in and pulled off her coat and adjusted her deep red cleavage revealing dress. She wasn't used to wearing things like THIS. It was going to take some time to get used to.

"Did he suspect anything?" Sharon asked.

"No," Emma tried to pull the dress down her thighs. How did women sit in dresses this short?

"Good, the last thing my dad needs for your father to do is jack his rent up because I was your ride."

Emma looked at Sharon, Sharon was horribly blunt and that's why Emma liked her but sometimes it wasn't really needed. It was not like she cared though. What did it matter? They wouldn't be friends in the next year or two anyway. Emma endured it.

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Due to Tommy's pathological lying state that Regina trapped him in, he usually didn't have many friends. However, more people usually came because he had wealthy parents and knew how to throw a great party.

Emma and Sharon had to park down the street because there was no other place to park. Emma's feet were already hurting her from the heels that Ruby also gave her what were almost too big. Emma had to curl her feet to keep them from falling off.

However the length of the dress was forgotten about the moment that she saw Tommy. When she realized that he was outside waiting for her, she felt her heart soar and the heat crawl up her neck. She knew that she and Tommy could never be but it was nice to be special to someone for reasons other than being a savior for once.

It was moments like this when she almost didn't think about the fact that they were in a town that could never age until she was far older than she was now.

He jogged down the porch stairs and came to stand in front of her, "Hey Emma…you made it."

"Happy birthday Tommy," she said and felt the blush creep in her cheeks when he blushed and looked at her.

"You look fantastic," he assured her.

"Thank you," she said and bit her lip. Why was her mind a complete blank? She spent all week rehearsing this! Why did her throat feel dry? Was she still red in the face? "You look nice too."

Oh, that was stupid. She just gave him his own compliment back; he must think she was such an airhead.

She looked behind her to realize that Sharon had abandoned her to go inside and all of a sudden she felt very alone.

"Your party seems nice,' she said and winced at the loud music booming, "They must miss you in there."

"Nah, I have a feeling they'd miss the spiked punch bowl even more," he muttered and looked at her, "I think I like it out here better."

He was talking about enjoying spending time with her!

She bit her lip to hide a happy squeal and leaned against one of the cars with him, "They're not so bad."

"They're shallow. They live in the happy existence of today when tomorrow is unknown and they're perfectly content in their shell and have no idea what else is out there and they don't care to explore it."

Sometimes he talked so nice…

"When I graduate, I'm out of here," he continued.

The reminder that he never would hit Emma felt like a punch to Emma's gut and she frowned and stared at the concrete under her.

"What about you?" he asked, "What are you going to do when you graduate?"

"You mean 'am I going to leave here or am I going to be happy living in my shell called Storybrooke without a care for bigger things?'" she asked and fiddled with a ring, "I don't know…my father thinks I'm going to save the world and sometimes I think he's right…and then other days I look around and think 'why should I want more?' I mean, is it really so bad now? I have a father that loves me and I love him and I'm safe away from anyone that could want to hurt me. We could be in a place full of…dangerous creatures and famines and wars...is a sleepy little town in Maine truly so bad? But then I look around again and I realize…for everything we have...there's something missing. NO one's happy, not really. Oh sure we have material things and we're better off but if we don't have companionship and love then what does all that amount to? So maybe I can change that if I can change the world, I don't know."

Something she said struck a chord in Tommy, he wouldn't stop staring at her, "I think that was the smartest thing that anyone's ever said in this crap town!"

Emma brightened, "Really?!"

"I always knew that having a lawyer as a father made you smarter than you pretended to be."

Emma wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not but her heart started racing. She grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him. He returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around her.

She was getting kissed for the first time! And it was by someone who cared about her as a person and for her brain and not because she was their adopted daughter or because she was their savior or anything like that.

And then as soon as he wrapped his arms around her, the lights from a nearby car turned on and shined on them. Emma blinked against the brights and felt her insides shrivel up when she realized that it was the car of the bodyguard her dad hired every now and then.

"Hey!" Tommy said, "Isn't that-?"

And Emma knew that she was in trouble.

"I better go," she whispered brokenly. Her father better find out from her before he found out from his bodyguard.

"Emma."

"I'll see you at school," she promised and started to walk away to the car that was waiting for her.

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There were many days in his lifetimes that Rumpelstiltskin hated and this was one of them.

The day that he found out about Belle's death.

He bit his lip and ran his fingers down the picture he'd drawn of her, so that he could never forget her face. He had pictures of everyone he'd cared about…Bae, Belle, and Emma…well he had several of Bae and Emma, they grew like weeds.

He looked back at Belle's picture and frowned. It wasn't his fault that she died! It was Maurice's he had tortured her, how was Rumpelstiltskin supposed to know that he'd do that?

And Emma was talking about working there for the summer. He wanted to forbid her but if she was forbidden then she would ask why. And he didn't want to be in the position to tell her about Belle.

But then again…why didn't he tell her about Belle? What was the point in hiding the fact that he'd been in love once? Had his life been so cloaked in secrecy over the centuries that he was now reluctant to share anything with his daughter for fear that sharing any stories of happiness might make him look weak?

Maybe he should tell her…but he wasn't going to tell her about Baelfire. Not yet. If she realized that they were here because he was here then she'd realize that he created the curse. And that was something he was determined to keep her from ever finding out.

The door flew open and hit the wall, startling him from his thoughts. He looked up as Emma came in wearing a coat over a dress that he was CERTAIN that he never bought her.

"You ruin everything!" she said and he saw that her mascara was running, "And before your guard dog tells you, I kissed Tommy and it was nice and I liked it! Believe it or not there are some nights that I want to have where I'm not reminded that I'm the pariah of this town because you scare everyone and I age and I have the chance to feel young because I'm not going to get much of those days here, am I? So I attended Tommy's birthday and he said I was smart and he kissed me and you can't take that away no matter how much you punish him or me!"

Rumpelstiltskin stared at her blankly as she wiped her eyes and ran up the stairs. He looked down as the bodyguard came in the room, "What was she wearing?!"

The bodyguard paled and opened his mouth to defend himself. He had one job when he was keeping an eye on Emma and that was to make sure she stayed safe and wearing one of Ruby's dresses certainly was inviting all the wrong attention.

And then Emma's words sank in before the bodyguard could defend himself and he looked at his employee angrily.

"And WHO did she say that she kissed?!"

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Emma was in bed when her father finally came up stairs. When the door opened, she felt her muscles coil in tension at the fight that was inevitably going to happen.

"You didn't tell me about the party," he said tersely.

"You wouldn't have let me go," she replied.

"Emma, if you're in the mindset that you're going to sneak off if I tell you 'no,' why should I allow you to go to anything I don't approve of in the first place?"

"Because he likes me."

"Aw, the melodramatics of one's first love."

Emma ignored him, "It's not like you'd understand."

"On the contrary, I actually do, Emma."

"You're just saying that!"

He walked in the room and closed the door behind him, "And here we used to be so close."

He was trying to guilt her. Emma wasn't going to fall for that, "Tommy's not like everyone else, he wants something better."

"Everyone wants something better, Emma. No matter how happy they are they always want something better. It's human nature. That need is just amplified thanks to Regina's curse."

Emma sat up, "Was your first love the woman in the book?"

He stopped and she knew she had him, "No."

"Who was she?"

"My first love?"

Emma meant the woman in the book but she was going to take what she could get at this point. Maybe it'd get his mind off the punishment she was inevitably facing.

Her father sat on the rocking chair next to the bed. It'd been there since she was a baby and he used to read to her and sit with her until she fell asleep. She didn't know why she kept it there after all these years…sentimentality she supposed.

"I wasn't…always the imp that you're familiar with in the stories I tell you. I was a man once."

Emma's eyes met his, he never told her this. There was a lot of his past that he didn't divulge in and she never asked. When he hinted around it, he got this far away pained look that made her think he was visiting unpleasant memories.

"And I was poor…not horrible dirt poor because my father was a spinner…which means that my family did have some standing in who I was to marry. Her name was Milah and while her status was slightly higher than ours…we were the closest match that she could achieve without marrying extremely high…which was unlikely or marrying extremely lower than what I was. We were betrothed at eight and married at 16."

"That must be hard marrying someone you barely know," Emma said.

"Sometimes a marriage of convenience is more likely to work out than one that starts out in the fiery passion of young love and flickers out over time."

"Was yours like that?"

"No," he said grimly, "She didn't love me. Milah was a very…very cold woman and while she was better with me at first…she grew dissatisfied."

"Did you love her?"

"With everything I believed to be love, yes," he said, "But it didn't matter…I lost her when something better came along…she left me."

Emma's eyes hardened, "Who did she leave with?"

"A sea pirate by the name of Killian Jones. A bully of a man," Rumpelstiltskin laughed bitterly, "He hid behind his honor and claims of being a gentleman but he tried to force me, a crippled spinner, to fight for her knowing full well I would either be killed or maimed."

Emma scoffed, "She was a whore, then."

"Emma Marie Gold, watch your mouth."

"You loved her!" Emma protested, "You provided for her and loved her and she ran off to become some bloodthirsty pirate on a boat because she was _dissatisfied_? Because some bully looked better for her? He sounds like scum to me. I hope you made her pay for that."

He sighed, he wanted to protest but he was tired, she could see that, "Far more than she was willing to pay."

He kissed her on the temple and stood.

"Was there a baby?"

Rumpelstiltskin stopped and Emma felt guilty at the pain that crossed his face, "I've seen glances of the other pictures when I was cleaning the house."

"There was," he told her after a few seconds of silence, "But not for a while. We tried and tried and perhaps that's why she grew to hate me. Maybe it was my fault that we couldn't conceive…maybe Zoso was right and Bae wasn't even mine."

He was talking to himself far more than he was talking to her. She wanted to ask who Zoso was but she realized that was probably another story for another time. She was just lucky enough to get the name of her adopted brother, "What happened to him?"

"I lost him," he whispered.

"Would it make a difference if Bae wasn't yours?" Emma asked.

"I don't see why it would. It's made no difference with you," he told her honestly.

The answer struck something within her and she blinked back the tears before they could surface, "Milah's still a tramp. I don't care if you disagree."

"And you're still grounded and I don't care if you disagree," he told her and gave a smile, "Don't think I forgot about how we got into this conversation."

Emma frowned as he gave her another kiss on her temple and left the room.

When he was gone, Emma pulled out her journal from underneath the floor boards and wrote down the information he told her about. It was a journal that she kept over everything she knew about people in the town as far as their identities went and who they were related to and what their backstories were.

She was the savior whether she liked it or not. She had to keep tabs on these things.


	29. Chapter 29

"Tommy kissed Emma?"

The slow amused way that Mary Margaret said it just angered Rumpelstiltskin as he sat across from her in her apartment. She seemed touched by the events that happened from last night. She seemed to think it was adorable.

He was horrified. She should feel the same that he did! Violated! That little punk kissed his little girl, "He kissed her! On the mouth!"

The very idea just made him want to gag. Didn't Mary Margaret understand that she was just still a child?

"She's happy and Tommy is a nice boy, what is the big deal?" Mary Margaret asked and spooned some cereal in her mouth.

He stared at her. What was the big deal? Emma was his baby and the savior and she didn't have TIME for this nonsense, especially since she didn't even intend to be with him anyway in the long run because she was the only one aging!

Why did he even come to her anyway? This wasn't something he wanted to really discuss with his daughter's mother due to its awkwardness but then he realized that he had absolutely no one else to talk to and Mary Margaret was usually the one that clued him in on what he was supposed to do when it came to these female things that he knew so little about

"What is the big deal?" He asked through clenched teeth, "She's fifteen! What does she know about these things?"

"Yes," Mary said, "She's fifteen. And this is the time of her life that she has to learn about 'these things. She's not your four year old child anymore Mr. Gold, she is turning into a young woman-."

The words sent a chill down his spine. If she was in their world then her parents would be looking for suitable husbands now. In this world she was still a child with her options in life just beginning.

"-and with being a young woman comes…feelings and hormones…much like the ones that you had when you were..." she trailed off and blushed, "Surely you remember what that was like!"

"Of course I remember what that was like!" he lied. In truth it was so far back in time that he wasn't sure he could summon the will or the want to remember. He certainly saw the others going through when they grew up and grew old. Perhaps his was repression though. HE didn't want to remember anything as a teenager because those years were just horrible, "And I certainly didn't appreciate the age barb."

"No!" She protested, "That isn't what I meant!"

"Are we really going to argue about these stupid things now?" he demanded, "When our daughter is off kissing boys in tight dresses at parties that she didn't even tell us about?"

Mary Margaret blinked, "_Our _daughter?"

"MY daughter," he clarified but he didn't think that was even remotely the point. She was listening to the wrong part of the conversation.

"Mr. Gold…Emma's at a point in her life where she's going to test boundaries a-and start moving off on her own path and you may or may not agree with what she chooses but the more you attempt the smother her, the more she's going to test those limits. Perhaps it's time you start giving her more freedoms."

"Why on earth would I reward her for disobeying the rules I've set?"

"Well clearly it would be a bad idea to give her those freedoms after she snuck off to a party but when her grounding is up…start giving her more privileges…more things to do. Emma is a very smart girl…but as you've probably noticed…she can get incredibly lonely and incredibly bored. And then she starts finding ways to entertain herself. Sometimes it's hard to be a girl Emma's age and live in a town such as this."

"Indeed," He muttered but stayed firm to his own beliefs, "But it's still her home, none the less."

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"Tommy kissed you?"

Emma frowned as she struggled with the clutch and the pedals in Jefferson's car as they slowly crept down the hill. Her father didn't let her drive his car but Jefferson took a bit more mercy.

She'd come to see him as soon as her father had left the house. She figured that this wasn't so bad…she needed to talk to someone about the meeting with Tommy. Her dad had never said anything about how she COULDN"T spend time with Jefferson and since he was probably yelling Mary Margaret's ears off, it wasn't like she could go to her mom to talk about what happened.

Emma still planned to have Jefferson be her endgame one day but she was far more subtle about it now than she was even a year ago. Her big doe eyes as she imagined her last name not existing because Jefferson didn't HAVE a last name were stupid and childish. He wanted her to be the savior so that he could get his daughter back and so she needed to take steps into ensuring that was the future. After all, she'd spent sixth grade being Grace's best friend just so she could watch out for her and Jefferson could remember it one day. After the fight with Maddy and her little snobby friends, Grace had been left alone. She was going to bring up Tommy and see if he got jealous. If he didn't then that was fine. She was fifteen and he was probably squicked out still. She'd turn eighteen soon and then she still had 10 years. Her father did say once that of all the men in Storybrooke, he wasn't so bad because at least he could support her and he had watched out for her all these years...and that was good enough of a blessing for Emma.

So really while she poked and prodded their relationship, she was more than happy to let it simmer for now. She would get older and turn into a woman and a savior and all the men would be clamoring for her hand and he would have it if he just asked.

And now that Emma wasn't staring at him and imagining what their babies would look like, Jefferson seemed more relaxed.

"Yes he kissed me," she muttered.

"On the mouth?" he asked with a hint of anger in his voice. Oh, was that him being protective? Oh, that sounded like him being the 'crazy uncle' kind of protective, she could just ignore that.

"Where else?" she realized that he was also amused by this and she shook her head, "He wasn't that good if that's what you're worried about."

"Eyes on the road!"

Emma focused and clenched the steering wheel. She'd told him about the kiss and her dad sending his bodyguard to watch her. She hadn't told him about the conversation shortly thereafter about her father's past. She never told Jefferson things like that. It felt wrong and he told her those things in confidence. Much like when Jefferson told her things about Regina or his daughter or things like that, she didn't tell them to her dad unless they were important for him to know. Usually they weren't. Usually they were just embarrassing stories about Regina that she brought back to him.

"Is your dad angry?"

"He's angrier that I snuck out than I kissed someone but he's pretty annoyed about that too. He left early this morning to talk to my mom. We should…probably avoid that street or any ones surrounding it."

"How come?"

"Because-," she started to say something and checking the turn

The slam into the sheriff's car wasn't hard but it was enough to slam both Emma and Jefferson forward and then back in their seats.

Jefferson hung his head when he realized what had happened, "Emma!"

Emma wanted to bang her head on the steering wheel…since when did Graham come out here to check on things?

And then she remembered that she was supposed to be at home and she was supposed to be grounded and she closed her eyes tightly, let the air out of her lungs and let her head rest on the steering wheel.

Her father was going to kill her.

At least the curse would be broken then.


	30. Chapter 30

Rumpelstiltskin had always figured he and Emma had a nice little relationship and he kept her line and she behaved.

But now he was going to kill her.

He'd grounded her! Which meant she wasn't to leave the house! And she couldn't claim she was bored, there were plenty of entertaining things that she could do at the house but the moment she got it in her head to do something, she wanted to do it. And he needed to get control of this situation before Emma decided that she wanted to go down the path of the rich and incredibly stupid.

Mary Margaret had insisted on coming with him when he'd gotten the call on the communication device known as a "Nokia" whatever that translated as.

His daughter was leaning on the brightly colored hatter's car when he drove up. He saw that she'd been crying. Good. He hoped that some of it was because she realized how much trouble she was in and he wasn't just talking about what he was going to do to her when he got her home.

Regina had gone out of her way to make sure Jefferson had no one here. That he would spend the 28 years alone with absolutely no company and he'd have everything in the world that he wanted to give his daughter. If she caught Emma, the only girl that could age in this town, interacting with him in a way that her overprotective father allowed then it'd put her on the scent and she'd know something was up.

He was going to kill Emma!

But first he needed find a way to get out of this without Regina figuring everything out and killing both of them first. Why was he so arrogant in the Enchanted Forest that he openly mocked Regina about Snow and Charming's unborn daughter being the key to stop the curse? Things would be a lot simpler if he hadn't done that.

Oh wait, he was insane and at the time he was trying to get her to agree to make him rich so he could be powerful AND fund Snow's survival when she somehow found a way to this world before the curse hit.

He threw open the door of the car and stormed over. Graham was writing the ticket down and it wasn't until Gold passed the car that he saw the damage. The right headlight was caved in. Jefferson's car barely had a scratch on it.

Emma moved to stand in front of him but she didn't meet his gaze. She didn't even say anything to him. There was no need. She'd screwed up badly and she was very aware of it.

"Get in the car," he said with clenched teeth.

Emma lowered her head and walked to the car where he hoped Mary Margaret would give her the third degree.

Graham looked up at him and shook his head, "That age, hm?"

"Indeed," Rumpelstiltskin said and gripped the cane. He had to tread carefully, this was Regina's favorite toy, "I'd been hoping to avoid this phase in her life."

"Driving without a license," Graham said, "And your daughter and…the gentleman over there won't tell me what their relationship is-."

"He's a family friend, I asked him to teach her how to drive. You can ask Ms. Blanchard and she'll confirm that he's been over for the last few Thanksgivings if your mind is so…warped that you'll wish to see things that aren't there…," he trailed off. He made sure to put a nonverbal threat in his voice.

Graham shrugged, "If you say so."

"Listen," Rumpelstiltskin said, "Is there…anyway we can keep this quiet? I'd like to deal with my daughter without the entire town talking about her partying last night and crashing a car today."

"Well the car's insured but," he raised his eyebrows, "It'll be a pain to keep quiet and I really don't lying…"

Rumpelstiltskin scoffed, "I hope you're not suggesting I bribe you, officer. I already charge you far less than what your little apartment is worth due to your never-ending quest to clean up the streets of the city…"

"Not at all," Graham said, "But there are things that need to be done around the office and I could use a bit of an assistant. Perhaps your daughter can come by after school and put in a couple of hours…work off the cost of the repairs and what the ticket would cost"

Rumpelstiltskin felt his blood run cold as Graham obliviously rattled on. He didn't like it. Emma alone with Regina and her toy a few times a week? He knew that Emma would eventually have to do things like this but she was still only fifteen and at her rebellious phase in life.

And if he didn't then Graham would actually have to do his job and Regina would find out.

Perhaps this was a good chance to teach Emma a tough lesson. He wasn't going to like it any better than she was but she needed to see that there would be consequences for her actions…tough consequences especially for her.

"I suppose we can work something out," Rumpelstiltskin said grimly.

Graham nodded, satisfied, "Well if anything, it'll keep her busy."

"Indeed," Rumpelstiltskin said grimly, "Thank you sheriff."

Graham turned to get in the car and Rumpelstiltskin turned to glare at Jefferson.

"Just for the record, I had no idea until after she smashed into Graham's car that she was grounded by you," Jefferson said.

Rumpelstiltskin just shot him another seething look before he turned and walked back to the car.

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"Sneaking out of the house to go see your friend and then going driving with him after you're grounded! What were you thinking, Emma?"

Emma cringed at Mary Margaret's anger. It was the closest thing to an angry mother that Mary Margaret had ever gotten close to, "I wasn't."

"Obviously!" Mary Margaret said and fumed in the front seat and then said a little bit more calmly, "You don't realize how much your father worries about you, Emma."

Yes she did. More than her mother or adopted father really knew.

"I mean you…I know that sometimes things are strained with your father due to who he is and the reputation he has in this town but…Emma, he's doing his best. It's only just him you know…and he's always talked about how he wished you'd had a mother or someone he could rely on as well but he doesn't and when you're someone like him…it's hard. And you acting like this…this rebellion you're doing isn't helping!"

"I know," Emma whispered.

"I mean, can you understand that he's trying."

"Yes," Emma said and looked up, "I wish you'd been my mom though."

Emma watched as Mary Margaret blushed, "I don't think that would work out."

"I know," Emma said.

They watched in silence as the door opened and her father sat in the seat. Emma lowered her head even further. She'd known that she messed up and she'd put them both in danger. There was nothing more that needed to be said and she was so dreading them getting home because any justification now just seemed stupid.

"You have a job," her father said tersely, "I've worked it out with the sheriff, you'll be working in his office after school to pay off damages and the ticket"

Emma felt her heart sink when she saw the anger in his eyes. How much of his pride did he have to swallow before he had allowed this to even take place? She was going to be in the lion's den. He wouldn't have allowed that unless he saw no other easy choices.

"Yes, dad."

"And don't think that's going to ease the talk you and I are going to be having when we get home."

"Yes dad."

He turned the ignition and put the car in reverse, "And you better apologize to Ms. Blanchard because I had to drive her out here to make sure that I didn't do something I regretted when I found out what you did!"

Emma blushed, "I'm sorry, Ms. Blanchard."

It was silent after that. The tension could be cut with a knife and Emma had no choice but to rest her forehead on the window and watch the passing town as her father drove Mary Margaret home.


	31. Chapter 31

If there was one thing that Emma's father liked to do whenever she was in trouble was to stay silent. He liked to milk that disappointed silence that he did so well and so thanks to that, the car ride back home after dropping off Mary Margaret.

When they got inside, he slammed the door behind him and she knew how furious he really was. She wasn't going to say anything. Every apology that she tried to think of seemed…shallow. Oh, she was sorry, and she regretted what she did but she wasn't sure there were words to describe her regret.

"Do you honestly realize what you've done?" he asked.

"Yes sir," she whispered.

"One misstep…," He reminded her, she could see that he was struggling to keep his calm demeanor, "One screw up and the game is done and Regina could put the pieces together on who you are. Now I told you that for years Emma. And up until now, you've done a pretty good job of listening to me. And now you've gone and landed yourself in a very precarious position because you want to listen to your hormones instead of common sense. You sneak off to a party and I grounded you for it. So, you sneak out of the house while I'm talking about your spontaneous decision to your mother and you think I wouldn't somehow find out that you did this? You even lied to Jefferson; he had no idea that you were grounded."

"I know," she whispered and squirmed under his furious gaze.

"Emma," he said tiredly, "Why are you acting like this?"

"The party made me feel like I was being my age," she whispered, "I felt like other kids."

"You are NOT just another kid," he reminded her, "You have a very important destiny and future that you can NOT afford to throw away."

"And I don't want it."

"Do you really think that I want this _for _you?" he demanded.

"You've done nothing to try and stop it," she argued.

Rumpelstiltskin stopped. He couldn't stop this even if he wanted to. Emma had no idea what she was asking. If she did, then she'd realize that he was asking her to choose between his daughter and his son. How could he make that decision? This was something that was best for everyone; this was the way that they could all be happy. Charming and Snow's daughter would be safe and not have Regina as a threat…and he would have Bae.

To stop after 300 years of planning and manipulating? The lives he helped ruin would've been for nothing and his son would never know that he was…no. No, Emma didn't understand what she was asking. They would be fine, Emma was safe with him.

At least if Emma stopped proving to be like her biological father and actually LISTENED to what he had to say.

"And I went to Jefferson because he's someone I could talk to. I know I disobeyed you and I'm sorry. Especially now that I have to work for Graham with Regina breathing down my neck."

"There are no words…," he started, "To express how disappointed I am in your judgment."

Emma visibly flinched as if he'd struck her and she looked down. He'd barely used 'disappointed'. He used 'angry' and 'upset' far more whenever she did something stupid but he saved 'disappointed' for when she was really in trouble.

"Please go to your room," he said, his hand tightened on the cane, "And for the sake of everything that's holy, this time STAY in there."

Emma seemed to shrink under his withering gaze; if she looked smaller and meeker he'd be more merciful.

And that might have gotten her some actual sympathy from him if he hadn't been the one that taught her that.

He waited until the door was closed and he sat in his chair and put his head in his hands. He had to think of a way to get Emma out of this.

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As Emma sat at the desk of the sheriff's station, she knew that she had to find out a way to get out of this.

Her father had told her that she had to go through with it when they sat at a tense breakfast this morning. He told her that not only was it to keep Regina off the scent, but it was high time she learn some responsibility. He called it 'tough love' and said he didn't want to do it any more than she did.

But maybe…and she only thought about this last night when she was alone in her room…but maybe this could be an advantage. Regina was her enemy, Graham was Regina's 'favorite toy' as her dad put it…maybe she could use this to learn some things about Regina. Her dad and Jefferson told her things that Regina had done but she still knew VERY little about her in terms of how she functioned or thought.

Her dad said Regina DIDN'T think and no human alive could understand how she mentally functioned but Emma was going to try anyway. After all, Regina was going to know her for 28 years; it would be a disadvantage if Emma didn't try to do the same.

"You can organize the filing system however you want," Graham said behind her, "Answer the phones; screen the important calls…if Ms. Ginger complains about an intruder in her yard, that's just Pongo. Tell her to throw a vanilla wafer out there and he'll stop. Also I'll give you money to get Leroy food when he ends up here, do NOT use your own money to buy him more."

Emma stared at the large stack of files in front of her; it looked like Graham had pulled out every file he had to make sure she stayed busy.

Well, it wouldn't be so bad.

He held up a box of donuts and opened the lid. Emma looked at it and then looked at him, "Really?"

He shrugged, "Sometimes the clichés are true."

She reluctantly took a bear claw, she'd been too nervous to really eat breakfast or lunch today.

"Graham!" Emma tensed when she heard Regina's voice just outside the door, "Graham, Leroy's sprawled out in my yard again. I thought you were going to-"

Regina trailed off when she came in and saw them both sitting there. Emma in a swivel chair and Graham leaning against the desk.

"Ms. Gold," Regina said as if she'd tasted something bad. Regina had done little to hide her dislike for Emma since the last time they'd met and Emma boldly called her a liar. It probably didn't help that Emma glared daggers at her every time they passed each other on the street, "May I ask what you're doing here that's so important that you've made yourself comfortable."

Perhaps Regina was angry that Emma took the only bear claw.

But she knew what was really the case. Regina hated that Emma made Rumpelstiltskin happy and she was jealous of the close relationship the two shared.

"I'm the new assistant," Emma said far more smugly than she really should have.

Regina gave a death glare at Graham, who squirmed, "It's in my budget."

"Well…I hope you don't get too comfortable Ms. Gold because we certainly don't see enough trouble in town to warrant extra people on the police force."

"You have Leroy passed out on your lawn, anything else could happen while the Sheriff's off hauling him back here," Emma shrugged, "Besides, my dad thinks it's time I learn responsibility before I get reckless with my rich party girl future self.."

Graham looked at her with a knowing look behind Regina's back.

"Well," Regina sniffed; probably annoyed that she wasn't going to be seeing some loving in the Sheriff's office for a while, "They say the mayor's always the last to know these things."

She turned on her heel and Graham shrugged at Emma and followed her out.

And Emma turned and looked at the stack of files in front of her.

Wonderful. She secretly wished that sorting through this mess would be the payout for the damages right there.

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When Emma got home it was starting to get dark and after some searching she found her father down in the basement at his wheel.

Yeah, she was in trouble. He never came down here anymore unless he was extremely upset or extremely angry.

"You're home," he said coldly.

"Yeah, I didn't mean to be so late but I wanted to get at least halfway done with the filing."

"Did you eat?"

"No, I came right home like you told me to," she sat next to him and watched him work. He handed her the wool and she held it while he spun the wheel.

Oh, she remembered spending so much time down here as a child. She remembered being perched on his good leg, holding the wool just like she was doing now while his stronger more knowledgeable hands worked the wheel and sometimes he even guided her hands to do it as well. When she became too heavy, he had put a chair next to him and they worked that way. Over the years they'd stopped coming down here. Emma wondered if perhaps she had ruined his sanctuary down there. She wondered if maybe he had used that wheel to remember the woman he loved and the adopted brother that she apparently had that she'd never met.

_I like to watch the wheel, it makes me forget_

Or maybe he stopped spinning because he was happy for a time. And now he was angry and he'd escaped back here.

"How was your first day?" he asked tersely.

"Oh, you know…it was fine," she said with a shrug, "Regina knows I'm there."

He tensed, and stopped spinning, "And you're alright?"

"Yeah," she told him honestly, "Regina was too busy marking her territory with Graham to question our little story. I thought she was going to pee on him to make it official."

"Don't be vulgar."

Emma felt her throat tighten as he almost sounded like he had emotion, "I'm sorry"

She wasn't talking about what she just said. Really, her dad could be such a prude sometimes when it came to reprimanding her for the things that flew out of her mouth. No, she was talking about what she did these past couple of days.

Her father was quiet and then he started spinning the wheel again, "Sometimes I do wish that you were free to do the things that other children your age were free to do."

Somehow Emma doubted that he was all that sincere in wishing she was like everyone else. Maybe there was a part of him that did wish it because he saw her struggle with her future every day but she also knew that every parent in the world hoped their child would be special. He lived with the comfort that Emma actually would be.

"But I do these things because I decide they're what you need to be safe," he told her, "What you did was wrong and it nearly cost you far more than what you were willing to pay."

"I know," she said and looked down. She didn't offer any more than that. She didn't want to know what the excuse of 'It seemed like a good idea at the time' would get her, "I'm sorry."

He sighed and kissed the top of her head. She felt the tension drain out of him and she rested her head on his shoulder and watched him spin, "How horrible of a boss is the sheriff?"

"Not so bad," she said, "His filing system is crap though. I think he just shoves papers into the files, gives it a weird label and then shoves it into the cabinet, never to be seen again."

"I wouldn't doubt it."

Emma was quiet for a few minutes, "He shouldn't be in the position that Regina's forced him to be in."

"No," Rumpelstiltskin agreed, his voice dripping with disgust at Regina using him for a…sex slave, "He shouldn't."

"Maybe this won't be all bad," Emma said and looked up at her father, "Maybe I can save him."

"You're going to save everyone," he reminded her.

"But maybe destiny said that I would crash into him so that I could end up in the Sheriff's office and I could save him."

"I don't think it works quite so easily," Rumpelstiltskin said with a small smile.

"If it does turn out to be my destiny and working with Graham couldn't be avoided, will my lifetime grounding be lifted?"

Rumpelstiltskin laughed in demeaning amusement, "Nice try, dear."


	32. Chapter 32

Warmth.

It was hard not to feel comfort and completely relaxed wrapped in the large white knitted blanket that seemed to envelop her.

There was something else around her that Emma couldn't explain. It couldn't be seen or touched but Emma could feel it almost suffocating her. But it wasn't a bad thing it was…secure.

"You have to get her to the wardrobe…"

Emma felt something else. It interrupted her serenity. She could feel the panic and fear radiating off the woman holding her. Her mother….Emma didn't know how or when she recognized her but Emma just knew that the woman was her mother.

"We have to give her her best chance…"

And then Emma was jostled. She let out a whimper because she didn't want to be disturbed…it felt nice and it was being taken away…and she couldn't comprehend that.

Then there were loud noises…and screaming…and something wet hit her in the face. Within seconds her entire world was crumbling under her. There was no love, there was no security, there was no comfort and she understood something new.

Fear.

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It was the same dream Emma always had growing up. And there was a part of her that was aware that it was a dream and there was STILL no way she could pull out of it until it was done.

"Emma!"

Something cold hit her in the face and her eyes flew open. She sat up straight out of the bed and coughed.

Her father stood there…empty water glass in hand. Emma scowled and looked at her wet top and blanket, "_Dad!_"

"There was no other way to wake you," He said.

She wiped the water off her face. He could never wake her when she was having this nightmare either. At least not until it was done with her.

Yet another 'privilege' of being the savior.

Even though it was dark, she could see that her father was deeply concerned for her, "Are you alright?"

She shook her head and wiped her eyes, "The dream came back."

"I figured as much when I heard you screaming, I suspect that any moment the sheriff will be busting down the door because they thought I was murdering you."

Emma threw back the blue and white plaid comforter, "I should get cleaned up."

"Do you wish to talk about it?"

Emma shook her head. Just the idea of returning to that dream..., "It's not the dream that's so bad, it's the feelings I have when I'm in the dream."

"You were only a baby," he said even though he knew there was a simple answer to that. He was just trying to comfort her anyway, which was sweet for him.

"I'm a true love child and the rules are different with me," she reminded him but she knew he was aware of it.

She heard him sigh, "You've been having this nightmare since I acquired you."

And she didn't need to be reminded of that either. She did have faint memories of him holding her and singing some song from their home world while she clung to him. Those songs stopped when she was old enough to start singing them back. Yet another thing taken away because Regina might find out.

She ran a frustrated hand through her hair and looked at her father, "Well one of us should get some sleep."

"Do you honestly think that I'm going to sleep after waking up to you screaming as if you were being murdered?"

Emma winced. She knew that was one of his biggest fears and so by her screaming from her nightmare, he'd awakened to his. Emma gently took her father's hand and squeezed it

"You can try," she said and stood, "I'm going to take a warm bath and try to lull myself back to sleep.

"Emma," he said and pulled himself up.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"No," she told him, "But there's nothing that you can really do."

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Emma didn't sleep anymore that night and she knew that her father hadn't either. They'd barely been able to function for breakfast and she was certain that her father nearly fell asleep in the pancake batter with the way he was dragging.

Luckily Emma was in the back of her last two classes, so she catnapped for most of the afternoon and was …almost awake by the time she got to the sheriff's office to work.

"Sheriff?" Emma called when she walked through the door.

He wasn't there.

Emma dropped her backpack on the tacky blue couch next to the cell and winced at the smell of alcohol.

Leroy was here this morning.

Hard to believe that he was her mother's most trusted guard but Emma supposed anything was possible.

Emma plopped down in her chair and started swiveling around in boredom, she didn't want to finish the filing…not yet….if she did then there wouldn't' be anything to do and she was going to be bored.

Besides, there was no one here yet to make her do what she was hired to do in the first place.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Gold."

Emma nearly fell out of the chair when she heard Regina's voice.

Oh, she'd rather take Graham.

Emma straightened up and put the files in front of her but it was too late. Regina knew that she was slacking off but Emma didn't see why it was any business of the old bat anyway.

"Putting our hard earned tax dollars to work, I see," Regina smirked and leaned against the desk.

"Graham isn't here," Emma said.

"He's still getting dressed at the Inn," Regina said, "I know."

Emma kept her face blank, "You mean, you and him-."

"Don't pretend to be ignorant to the fact that you know about he and I, Ms. Gold. I'm aware that you know and it's ridiculously childish that you pretend otherwise."

"Knowledge is power," Emma said

"Yes, I'm quite sure that your adopted father taught you that before he taught you how to walk," Regina said and put a box down on Emma's desk.

"What's this?"

"Well, as mayor I have access to records about everyone and according to your adoption papers…your birthday is today."

Emma looked down warily at the box. Her real birthday wasn't for another three months but they'd had to change it so Regina didn't figure out who she was.

Emma felt the tension in the room as she reluctantly opened the box and found a cupcake with a blue star candle.

She was NOT going to eat that.

"It's thoughtful," Emma said, "But…I'm on a diet."

Regina's eyes narrowed, "You're already a twig."

"I don't like the sugar rush. Especially if I'm working a desk job."

"You don't like my gift?"

"It's thoughtful…" Emma said and then tried to fake a casual shrug but felt like she failed due to the mounting unease growing in the room.

"Well I can understand why you'd be cautious," Regina said and then smirked as if she'd knew she won, "Your mother was picky about what she ate as well after…well…everything happened."

Emma froze.

"What?" Regina asked, "Did you think that I would never figure out who you were?"


	33. Chapter 33

Emma stood and looked at Regina, her eyes met Regina's calm arrogant brown eyes and Emma knew that she'd been had. Her heart started racing and it felt like the oxygen had been driven from the room and she could no longer breathe.

_Just calm down Emma, try to think. _

"What are you blabbering on about?" Emma demanded. IT was fine, just play it cool…she wouldn't know…she was just grasping at straws anyway. She couldn't have figured it out. She couldn't have. And no matter what excuse she gave, it'd better be good Emma was good at spotting a liar, she lived with one of the best for fifteen years.

Regina put her palms against the table fingers spread, "Enough games, Emma. I know who you are. Your mother is Snow White and your father is Prince James or whatever his name was before King George dragged him into all this. Somehow Rumpelstiltskin procured you in a deal so that he could raise you. Disappointing frankly, your mother must've been _desperate _to give you to him. I wonder how she'd react to know that you're slowly going to turn into him."

Emma kept her face blank but she was growing angry. Her father had done some horrible things, Emma was aware of that. She didn't know everything, and she didn't WANT to know everything. It didn't matter though, she still trusted him because she knew that whatever his reasons and whatever his original goal…in his own way and perhaps in the way of everyone else that was a good father…he loved her. Emma would _never _doubt that. As if turning into her father was a completely horrible thing. She knew how he came to be…the Dark One. Sure, the book didn't really divulge that much into his past but Emma knew enough to put two and two together. She knew he'd done it for his son; her adopted brother. He looked down evil incarnate and risked taking the power to save Bae.

And this was the man that they called a coward.

And Regina…this woman…had taken everything from her. She took her mother and father…she took Emma's home and family and happiness and now she was standing here changing everything and she had that blasted cupcake because she knew Emma wouldn't eat it and she was _mocking _her with it. Because Emma was scared of what she'd do because she tried to kill her mother by putting her under a sleeping curse and having the dwarves bury her alive.

Emma gave her a look so furious that even Regina's ever present smirk faltered, "Well, let's remember whose fault it is that he had to raise me in the first place."

Emma's eyes scanned for the exit. Regina blocked her off. She was sure that she could take down Regina if she really needed to. Jefferson taught her how to floor someone before they could blink. It was something that she really liked doing for shallow reasons. It was just fun to be halfway on top of Jefferson on the ground.

But Regina might claim she assaulted her. Since Emma didn't have the best trust record right now with these things, she really didn't want to end up trapped in one of those cages unable to get away from this woman. Her father would protect her but she knew that eventually Graham would kick him out. He may be able to get back in but he had to sleep sometime. Emma wasn't sure if the Ice Queen herself did sleep. She probably just waited.

Emma edged toward the door ever so slightly and watched as Regina followed suit. Like a snake or a wolf eyeing its prey.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked.

Regina didn't answer that and to be honest that scared her far more than anything.

"Emma! I'm back!"

Both Regina and Emma froze at Graham's voice. Emma took a chance and rushed toward the door only to nearly collide into Graham's chest. He reached out to grab her and Emma drew back sharply. He was Regina's toy, Regina controlled him. She didn't want him touching her.

"What are you going?" he asked, "I have work for you to do."

The lie came out before Emma could really think, "The mayor gave me the night off. It's my birthday."

Emma wouldn't have bought the lie if she knew what to look for. She was breathing too rapidly and her voice broke and she knew her eyes were probably popping out of her head which was something she did when she was scared or shocked. Her father always said she looked like a fish on land. She hated it when he called her that.

But Graham had no reason to doubt them, instead he just looked happy for her, "Well happy birthday, if I knew that today was your birthday then I would've given you the day off."

"I work hard," she said quickly and rushed past him, "Dad's waiting for me. I have to go."

Emma head to the door as fast as she could without actually running. She didn't want to give any alarm away because it would endanger Graham and she wasn't about to allow him to die for her.

"Ms. Gold."

Emma broke out into a run when she heard Regina's voice. She slammed through the glass double doors and raced down the sidewalk and in between the buildings where she was certain that she could disappear.

She had to get away, she had to hide. Regina knew who she was and she wasn't going to let Emma live.

First she had to find her father. He was the only one that Regina was terrified of. HE would keep her safe. He would rip their enemy apart if it meant protecting Emma.

Emma stopped. No, she couldn't go to her dad. Her dad could protect herself but Mary Margaret was an innocent who couldn't protect herself as far as this world was concerned and she was someone that Regina hated and she knew that Emma was close to her.

No, Emma needed to get to her mother. She needed to keep her safe.

And from there, she could call her father.

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Rumpelstiltskin knew it was probably an overprotective father thing, but he couldn't sleep unless he knew that Emma was home.

But that didn't stop him from napping on the couch until he was sure that she was home safely. She'd been staying late at the sheriff's office because she knew that was her loophole against being grounded.

He'd taught her well. He just wished she was out of the house before she picked up on the subtle lessons he taught her though.

Why? WHY did she have to have a nightmare during rent day?

It wouldn't be so bad but it was also cold and his bad leg hurt. He didn't even have anything to entertain him. In the old world, the limp had been caused by his fellow 'soldiers' when they caught him for deserting. When they realized they couldn't send him back to his garrison to be humiliated then they destroyed his leg to make sure he could never run again.

Then he was sent home. The leg injury was like this world's version of a scarlet letter. Everyone looked at him with scorn and he no longer found a welcome invitation to take comfort in the arms of his wife because she was free to make her loathing of him public. At least she had tried to hide it once. She made him believe that she actually cared somewhat.

He spent those first few years in constant agony until he either learned to ignore the pain or the leg just went numb. He wasn't sure which.

Or maybe it was because of Bae. Once he was walking with some wool to be spun and he turned around and found his son had found a large stick and was imitating him. The boy's eyes held unfathomable adoration and love and maybe that's why Rumpelstiltskin's leg hurt a little less now.

Even Emma had found a little makeshift cane because she wanted to try it out but it hadn't lasted long. She'd gotten bored with it. He did remember once when he was sitting down at the shop with his cane in front of him. And Emma had quietly crept up in front of him, placed her chin on the handle of the cane and asked why he limped.

_It's just the way I came to this world, child. _He had told her. Well it wasn't completely a lie. His human body had a limp and it was his human body that existed now. He really hoped that he didn't take his dark form when he brought magic back, he didn't want to terrify his daughter.

The phone rang, bringing him out of his memories. Oh, when things were so much easier…Emma had been a child and so close to a tomboy that it was almost like having a son. Now that she was becoming a woman he didn't know what to do with her.

He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was the Blanchard residence. Well, what on earth did she want?

He turned on the phone and brought it to his hear, "Yes?"

"Dad?"

He sat up, anger immediately hit him. What was Emma doing there? She had orders to come straight home, she was not to see her mother, she was not to see Jefferson, she was not to see that little boyfriend of hers…she was not to do anything. Was he honestly going to have to start following her around to escort her? Well why not? She was choosing to act like a child; he was going to treat her like one.

"What are you doing there?" he demanded angrily.

"Daddy!" he heard her terrified sobs and any hint of anger dissipated almost as fast as it had arrived, "Daddy, she knows."

He tensed. The 'she' could only be one person, "What?"

"She confronted me in the office and I-I didn't know what to do."

"Is Mary Margaret listening to you right now?"

"No, I'm in her bathroom. She thinks I want to talk about boy trouble and I said it was okay by you."

His mind tried to work. Regina knew. Emma's life was in danger now. He had to stop this before it even had a hint of escalation. He could always retaliate if something happened to Emma but by then it would be too late. She'd be hurt or dead and he'd never forgive himself.

"Call Jefferson," he instructed. As much as he disliked his daughter's infatuation for the Hatter, he knew that Jefferson would protect her and her mother should it come to that, "Tell him you want him there."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to take care of this. You stay in that house and don't open the door for anyone."

"Mary Margaret should know."

"And how are you going to explain that one, dear?" he asked. He grabbed his keys and his coat jacket. There was no doubt in his mind that the only reason Regina hadn't gone after Emma was because she was waiting to see what he would do. She probably sat herself down in her office and was waiting, "Keep the boy trouble ruse up. Tell her to let Jefferson in so that you can talk to him if you need to. Make it look like some overblown thing."

He really wished that Mary Margaret was Snow at this moment. She'd know what needed to be done. He imagined that if this had happened with Mary Margaret remembering then it would've ended with him trying to pull HER away from Regina's dying corpse.

At least that's what he liked to imagine would happen. Goody good people were so unpredictable sometimes and not in a way that he had fun in.

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As far as acting went, Emma didn't have to really sell being completely devastated. As soon as she saw her mother's face and remembered that it wasn't really her mother and she was the most likely candidate to be hurt in order to get to Emma…Emma had burst into tears and she hadn't stopped crying since.

She locked herself in the bathroom but she kept a sharp era out while Mary Margaret tried to talk to her through the door to her about how she could always find someone better than Tommy and how one day she'd find happiness.

Emma was never going to be happy again though. That's what Mary Margaret didn't understand and she couldn't understand until the curse was broken.

Well maybe Emma needed to find a way to break it early now that everything was going out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Someone knocked on the door and Emma froze. It could be Jefferson, it could be anybody. She couldn't protect her mother if she was hiding in a room, "Wait! Mary Margaret-."

Jefferson stood there. Still wearing what normal people would think was eccentric clothing including the cravat to hide the neck scar. Emma had never seen it, nor would she ever ask to until he was comfortable to show her. She knew the things that happened in Wonderland had traumatized him.

Jefferson's eyes immediately fell on her and she saw something that looked like relief in his eyes and he brushed past a confused Mary Margaret and walked quickly to the bathroom, "What happened?"

He closed the door behind him, cutting off Mary Margaret from the conversation. Emma sort of felt bad but she knew she'd sound insane if she told her what was going on. And she was only here to keep her mother safe.

Emma sank back down to the corner that she'd been hunkered in. She told Jefferson what happened and he listened intently, "And she knows?"

"I don't know how," Emma told him.

"You've revealed nothing?"

"I've thought and thought and I don't think I slipped up. I barely talk to her since the incident at the school."

"You think she guessed?"

Emma gave him a horrified look, "You mean this could be averted if I hadn't frozen?"

"I don't honestly see how you could've gotten out of that one unless you ate the pastry she gave you. And there was no telling if that was poisoned or not."

"And dad's out there with her," Emma whispered.

"He is," Jefferson confirmed and sat beside her, "But I've learned over the years that if there's anyone that can get Regina to do what they want…"

He gave her an almost playful nudge with his elbow and Emma almost smiled.

"…it'll be your father."

He began to stand up and Emma remembered something, "Jefferson?"

"Hm?"

"If Regina…figures out that you and I know each other or she comes to you promising to get your daughter for you if you hurt me….you'd refuse wouldn't you?"

He didn't hesitate, he shot her one of his charming smiles that made her insides melt the few times he actually gave them, "You should know by now that I'd protect you."

Emma smiled in relief, "Do you promise?"

"Regina's betrayed me once," He gave her a teasing look, "Why would I hurt the one person that plans to be my girl one day?"

Emma knew he was probably saying that to make her feel better. But when he had his back turned and was leaving the room, she buried her face in her drawn knees and did her best to suppress a squeal

Now wasn't the time, she knew that. However, in a way, that seemed to make it the time for her to be happy even more.

At least for a second.

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Regina had revealed that she knew Rumpelstiltskin's daughter was the savior of several worlds that Regina had cursed. Which meant that Regina had tilted her hand and exposed herself needlessly just to gloat.

Rumpelstiltskin could barely conceal his rage as he walked into Regina's office and glared at her smirking face. The fact that she was relaxed angered him even more. Did she honestly thing that she won? That she had somehow won the war before it had even started?

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you came here;" Regina said and gestured to the apples, "Want one? Freshly picked."

"You came after my daughter, _dearie," _he said. There was no point in pretending now. She knew who he was and she knew that he was awake. He wasn't above playing games with people's minds but now wasn't the time when the safety of his child was on the line, "If I were you, I'd be cowering in fear and begging for my life."

Regina stood up and leaned over the table, "I could've killed her, but I didn't."

Did she honestly think that was a mercy?

"Oh, you did much more than that," he let some of his rage show and she still looked arrogant, "You let her go, knowing full well that she'd live the rest of her life in fear that you would attack her at the moment she let her guard down.

"Do you want to know how I figured it out?" she asked.

His hand tightened on his cane, he wanted to throttle her but he knew he needed to know where he messed up. He hated unknowns.

She seemed all the more eager to lean over, "Do you remember when I came to you one of the first weeks we were here? To complain about you raising my rent and I met that little bundle of joy you had? You remember, you raised everyone's rent to replace the money that you needed to bribe everyone and get your hands on her?"

"Clearly," he said, "You had smoke coming out of your nostrils practically."

"How old was she was when was adopted? Or what you're claiming her age is now? A three month old? Pretty small for a three month old, she looked more like a newborn. So I realized that it didn't match what the paperwork suddenly said. That's when I realized something was off. Well combine that with your eagerness to adopt a baby as soon as we got here and Emma looking amazingly like her mother as she got older-."

"So you just guessed?" he interrupted.

Regina seemed annoyed and insulted by that but she didn't deny it, "Does Emma even know that you created the curse and taught me to become like I was? Or is she going to be completely trusting of you when you manipulate her into becoming another version of my mother and me?"

Rumpelstiltskin grabbed Regina tightly by the throat and slammed her against the wall. Regina clawed at his hand and struggled for breath while he glowered at her. She underestimated him, he had far more strength than he appeared, "Listen to me, because this is how it's going to be dearie…you cannot kill my daughter. One; because I have grown rather attached to her, and if you kill or harm her then your short-lived future after that will be most unpleasant. Two; if you kill her then our little curse will be broken. And while that's still preferable to what I'd do to you, the crowd still wouldn't make your death a quick experience. Of course, that is…if they got to you first."

He realized that he was squeezing too tightly. She was turning different colors. Rumpelstiltskin had to admit that it would be a lot easier for everyone to strangle the life out of her right now but the curse would be broken if Regina died and if the crowd didn't have Regina to tear apart then they'd have him.

No, everything had to be in the time he had set. He needed to bring magic when Emma was ready to fight Maleficent and she was nowhere near ready yet.

He reluctantly released her and watched as she crumbled to the ground and gripped her throat.

He glared at her for a few moments and grabbed his cane, "I'll only tell you this once. I will keep Emma away from you if you stay away from Emma. If something happens to her then I'll assume that you're responsible and…well…"

He didn't finish it. Better to let the imagination fill in the blanks.

Rumpelstiltskin grabbed his cane and with a final threatening glare, he walked out of the office.

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"If you two don't tell me what's going on right now, then we're going to have problems."

Emma winced at Mary Margaret's authoritative tone and gave a sidelong look at Jefferson who was frozen in place with a little gingerbread in his mouth. Mary Margaret had made some of Emma's favorites to make her feel better.

It wasn't that Emma had a problem with Mary Margaret taking stances like this; on the contrary, she really loved it when her 'maternal figure' went all 'mom mode' on her but Mary Margaret just didn't sound intimidating. It usually came off more as cute and adorable because of how flustered she was.

"It's nothing that you really need to worry about," Jefferson said.

"You have GOT to be joking. Emma came to me in tears and barricaded herself in my bathroom because she was on the verge of a panic attack and you mean to tell me that it's nothing?"

Emma knew her mom had a point. If her life was in danger then she would have to know but they would never convince Mary to be able to stay quiet about it or explain WHY Regina might come after her.

"It's boy trouble," Emma said and kept her eyes on the gingerbread man that sat uneaten on the table, "I'm fine."

"Don't you dare lie to me."

Jefferson looked amused and Emma wanted to kick him. This was nothing to joke about…her mom was sounding like her mom and even though she was in trouble, Emma thought that was awesome.

"Emma," Mary Margaret said and then Emma watched as the blood drained from her face, "Did Tommy…is Tommy pressuring you into doing something you're not ready for?"

"No!" Emma said immediately and felt embarrassed when Jefferson watched her. Oh please, NOT in front of him.

There was a knock at the door and Emma tensed so quickly that the gingerbread man broke in her hands. There must've been a look of terror on her fact that Mary had never seen before because she took her hand and gave it a brief loving squeeze that Emma returned before Mary Margaret went to answer the door.

A tear slid down Emma's cheek when she realized that Mary Margaret could die and Emma couldn't stop it. They were trapped here and none the wiser to the danger they were all facing.

Jefferson put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her before he went to stand in between her and the door. Emma tensed, ready to spring if it was Regina or one of Regina's minions. Emma didn't care now, she had Jefferson to help her and he'd help her send whoever was there tumbling down the stairs.

"Hello Ms. Blanchard, sorry for the intrusion-."

Emma gave a sob of joy when she heard her father's voice and ran to meet him. He was alright…he was safe. She knew that she probably shouldn't be worried about him but she couldn't help it if she was. Regina liked to destroy her enemies and Rumpelstiltskin was her greatest one.

She stopped as soon as she reached the door and Jefferson stood behind her.

"What is going on?" Mary Margaret demanded.

"There was a problem at the sheriff's station thanks to the mayor," Rumpelstiltskin told her, "It's been handled…for now."

"For now," Jefferson said warily. The intent heavy in his voice. Regina would behave and keep away for Emma for a time. But when it benefited her, she would more than likely break her word and come after Emma when they least suspected it.

And these three were the only real allies that Emma had and one of them wasn't even aware of the danger she could be facing.

"I'm sorry that we bothered you, Ms. Blanchard," he said and extended his arm to his daughter, "Come on dear, let's go home."

Emma practically rushed to her father and Jefferson followed suit. He hesitated and looked at Mary Margaret before he managed to stutter out that she made good cookies and rushed forward with the others. His time alone on the house on the hill with only Emma and Rumpelstiltskin for company didn't do anything to improve his social skills.

When they were out of sight of Mary Margaret's apartment, Emma heard her father give a long tired sigh and pulled her back and examined her, "Did she hurt you?"

"No," Emma told him and tried to stay strong when she saw the absolute panic in his eyes.

Rumpelstiltskin pulled her into a suffocating hug which she returned. She was so scared that she was going to die tonight and Regina's inability to keep her word only scared Emma more.

"How did this happen?" Jefferson demanded, "The first Thanksgiving I spent with you, you said that her finding out was impossible."

"Well clearly not," Rumpelstiltskin said, "When I put in the allowances for Emma to be raised safely in town, there was a chance for loopholes to be had."

"From you?" Jefferson scoffed.

"I made it to where it'd be impossible for Regina to find Emma. Or so I thought," he looked at Emma apologetically, "It's not my best work but I was also quite insane at the time and the services that I was managing to get was indeed terrible. I didn't know I needed to make it to where it'd be impossible for her to find you right under our noses until hours before the curse hit."

Emma looked between both of them, "What do we do?"

"End the charade and train you like you should be trained," Jefferson said, "Between me training her harder and your father's knowledge of magic-."

"No," Rumpelstiltskin said sharply, "I'm not going to take her down that road."

"You need to fight fire with fire," Jefferson said.

"Good will win over evil," Rumpelstiltskin said and directed the statement to Emma, "And my knowledge of magic isn't meant for heroes."

Emma didn't want to learn it anyway, she knew how her father despised what being the Dark One cost him and there was no way she was even going to remotely allow herself to become like Regina.

"We'll talk about it later," Rumpelstiltskin said before Jefferson could argue. Which was his way of saying that they weren't going to talk about her using magic at all, "Right now, I'd like to get my daughter home and not talk about this in the middle of the street where ears are known to listen. Thank you for watching Emma and Mary Margaret."

He put a hand on Emma's back and guided her away from Jefferson. She turned around and gazed at him until he turned and walked away.

"She's not going to stop just because I threatened her," Rumpelstiltskin said as they walked down the street toward home, "She's going to wait until it can't possibly be more than an accident when she comes after you or your mother or your father…"

"Or you," Emma reminded him.

"She wouldn't dare touch me."

"She'd come after you faster than she would Prince Charming. I don't have a relationship with him like I do you and mom."

Rumpelstiltskin moved in front of her and took her face in his hands, "I was so worried that-."

Emma felt the tears fall down her face and she wrapped her arms around her father. How was she supposed to be happy now? Any joy that she had would always be overshadowed by the fact that her enemy was waiting in the shadows, ready to strike a number of people that would affect Emma.

He held her for a few minutes. He didn't assure her that he'd keep her safe.

Because she knew he'd be lying, she knew he was worried about rather or not she could actually do it.

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It was dark and pouring rain by the time they got home and Emma couldn't sleep. The day's revelations left her physically and emotionally exhausted but sleep wouldn't come.

Regina would break the shaky deal that she and Rumpelstiltskin shared. She'd come after her and either Emma would die or get hurt or one of her loved ones would.

Emma threw the covers back, climbed out of bed, and went to sit on the window seat that had always been her favorite perch in the house.

She didn't miss Regina's car as it passed by the house slowly. Emma kept still, but she knew that there was no way that Regina could see her from up here.

Then it occurred to her that maybe Regina was staking out the place because she was actually _worried_ about what Emma could do.

Maybe Emma didn't have to sit there and wait for Regina to strike.

Maybe it was time that she got some leverage of her own.


	34. Chapter 34

Three months later, Emma turned sixteen and Rumpelstiltskin couldn't even count on his hand how many times she smiled.

There was a sort of innocence to her now that was gone. She was scared and he didn't know how to comfort her. He'd caused this, he knew it. He had set Regina down the path that she went down. Oh sure, she made her own decisions to go down that path and only she was accountable for the crimes she committed but he knew he was partly responsible. And if he could pass everything off on Regina as it being her fault, he could blame himself for picking the Charmings. He could blame himself for manipulating Snow's fears just so he could get his hands on Emma.

Perhaps she would've been safer out there in the world without him. Perhaps she would've been happier with one of those…well-meaning families.

He'd failed her as a father. He'd failed her horribly. He should've been more thorough in securing Regina's ignorance. He should've done better at designing everything so that she never found out. He should've stopped to think when he was getting the last touches on everything ready that maybe he WOULD come to care for Emma as his own and that she WOULD be more to him than just a pawn in his plans.

The nightmares were worse now. Emma no longer dreamed about her father pulling her away from her mother and protecting her, she was dreaming about the Queen's Guard killing her as a baby. She screamed so loud that she was waking the neighbors, and they called the sheriff. So Regina was definitely aware of what was going on. Rumpelstiltskin sensed it when he and Emma passed her on the street.

Emma was also a lot more withdrawn. She didn't…she didn't talk to him as much. Dinners were starting to go quiet…she was spending longer and longer times away from home training with Jefferson. Even Mary Margaret commented that Emma had all but cut ties with her. Rumpelstiltskin was sure that it was only Emma's way of protecting her but the sadness in Mary Margaret's voice as she realized her daughter wasn't wanting to spend any time with her anymore twisted that knife that was already in Rumpelstiltskin's chest.

And he just honestly didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to deal with this.

He wished that he could just freeze her as a happy innocent three year old forever sometimes.

"I'm going to Jefferson's," Emma told him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Rumpelstiltskin looked up and watched her open the door, "Be careful."

Emma stopped and she looked at him. She must've seen a lot of regret and worry because the wall that she put up around herself softened and she managed a small smile, "I love you."

She was probably only doing that to put his mind at ease but he was going to take what he could get, "I love you too."

"I know I've been…distant."

"You have reason to be."

"No," she said, "Not from you. Not after everything you've done for me."

If she knew everything he'd done then she'd run and he wouldn't blame her for it.

"But everything will be okay soon," she said with resolve. And Rumpelstiltskin knew that she was planning something. Probably something big if she wasn't going to tell him about it right off.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

Emma gave him a firm look and he knew he wasn't going to talk her out of it, "I'm going to get some leverage on Regina."

He sighed, "Emma-."

"She could break her word and hurt me at any time," Emma argued before he could get more than her name in."

"That doesn't mean you break your word first."

"I never agreed to the terms of your deal that you made with her," Emma argued, "And what's the point of having a deal if you know the other party is going to break it? Besides, your deal was to keep us away from each other and I don't plan on going near Regina…the deals not even broken."

He hated it sometimes when she paid attention to what he taught her.

"And what are you going to do?" he challenged, "Because I certainly hope you thought of all the variables in your play, dear. Because you'll have to eat a lot of crow if you don't and you may pay a price that you're unwilling to."

"I know," she said, "But I have to do something."

"Oh, I agree dear," he told her, "Just make sure you're willing to deal with the consequences."

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As Emma paced in the woods, she knew that her father was right to be worried. This was something big…something that would change everything. If Emma messed up on this then she was going to be starting that little war of theirs early.

And while she wasn't near ready to pay the price of him being disappointed in her should she fail…she just had to do something. It wasn't very heroic and it wasn't very savior-esque to sit around waiting for something bad to happen just so she had the go-ahead to react.

"I don't know…why you wanted me to climb the steepest hill in the entire forest just to meet up with you."

Emma turned and looked at Jefferson as he stopped to fan himself with the book that Mary Margaret had given her as a child. When she'd brought it up to him weeks ago, he'd been fascinated by the idea. She'd let him borrow the book so that he could read through it and now he brought it with him for reference.

"It's a good vantage point," Emma told him, "And my dad can't follow me all the way out here."

"You haven't told him what you were going to do?" he asked.

"I want to…," she told him honestly. Oh how she'd wanted to sit and tell him about her fears and put all her feelings into words about what she was going through. But the time for that was over. She was sixteen now and hardly a child, "But in the end he wouldn't let me if he knew what we were doing."

"Or he'd provide information and ideas," Jefferson told her, "Because I still don't think that of all the plans we came up with, this is the best one."

"It's the best one we thought of," Emma reminded him, "And you said you'd stand by me on this."

"I will," he told her.

Emma saw how painful that promise was to him and she instantly regretted pulling him in on her plot. She should've just done it herself.

"Jefferson," she said and she felt her determination weaken, "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I mean, I know you have Grace and if Regina ever found out that you're helping me then she's in danger too."

"No," he said, "If you won't let your father help, then there's no one else here to watch your back."

Emma felt ashamed of herself and she lowered her head.

"Hey," Jefferson put his hand on her shoulder and stepped closer than what society deemed necessary for a man his age and a girl her's. She would normally mentally squeal at him being so close they were practically touching but he did that with everyone. It was FAR less hot when she considered that he stood so close as to practically touch her father when they were arguing or just being intense (Which always happened when you got them in the same room together). Besides, she was too stressed and terrified by what they were about to do to realize he was breathing on her, "I wouldn't let you do this if I didn't think it had some potential."

Emma looked at him, "You'll have my back? Even if it goes bad?"

"If your father finds out and kills you before Regina does then I'll tell Graham where he hid your body."

Emma was sure that he meant to comfort her, so she smiled. He had a weird way of going saying things but she could deal with it.

She grabbed the crowbar that she'd gotten from the basement and walked back to him, "Let's go."

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Regina brought flowers to her father's memorial every Wednesday evening but the council meeting that was scheduled to take place that night made Regina have to change her plans and the only time that she could visit was that morning.

It wasn't really her father's grave of course; it was the secret area under it that she wanted to spend time at. It reminded her of home, it was her place to think and realize all she'd left behind when she came here for her 'happy ending'.

Was it even happy? To make herself ruler over everyone here? How was this world making Snow White miserable? It was bad enough that she was idolized in fairy tales here but their living environment… It seemed better, there wasn't war or famine or magical creatures or little innocent girls turning into wolves. There weren't potions, or magic…they were all just here.

And Regina was incredibly bored.

At least until she found out that the savior had been growing up right under her nose the entire time. She should've known that Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't raise a child out of the goodness of his heard and neither would Mr. Gold. Well, she supposed that she DID know that and that was why she was so suspicious.

It'd been three months since she revealed she knew. And she had expected Rumpelstiltskin to cut her brake lines or smother her in her sleep but so far…nothing had happened. She knew Emma was his weakness, she knew the idea of losing her terrified him and that was an advantage to Regina. She could do anything she wanted if it meant she held Emma's life in her hands.

Perhaps Rumpelstiltskin was intimidated by the newfound power she had and that was why he hadn't done anything yet.

Unlikely, but the idea of him cowering before her, begging for his daughter's life made her smirk and she walked up to her father's vault. She should really make plans to ensure that happened.

But how did she get rid of Emma without angering Emma's father? She didn't even know when Emma was supposed to save everyone; Rumpelstiltskin had thought to leave that information out when he was taunting her in that cell.

And Regina wasn't even sure how many allies Emma had in this town; all of Sidney's attempts to follow her were thwarted easily by Emma once she got in the woods. Regina knew that Emma had been in those woods since before she could walk. She knew them like the back of her hand and probably better than anyone else in the town as well.

She went into the mausoleum and pushed the coffin back. The chill of the room below greeted her.

Perhaps she didn't need to worry about Rumpelstiltskin, perhaps she could think of a way to get rid of both of them at the same time.

She walked down the steps and what welcomed her caused her to drop her purse in shock.

Someone had been down here.

She rushed forward and looked at the drawers, they'd been opened recently and not by her. She could see the indentions of the tools, most likely a crowbar.

She pulled the drawer open and saw that the box that contained what should be a heart was empty.

There wasn't even the sound of beating…

That little guttersnipe….

Emma Gold had broken in here and stolen Regina's hearts!


	35. Chapter 35

Emma had been gone practically all night with Jefferson and before breakfast she had gone out again.

Rumpelstiltskin tried not to let it bother him as he dusted things in the shop but his daughter was keeping secrets from him about where she was and what she was doing so his mind automatically went to the worst possible scenario. And he didn't want Jefferson as a potential son-in-law. The man knew too much.

He was going to have his bodyguard follow her now. He tried to do it last night but the big oaf got lost in the woods when Emma went in there. She was smart, he'd give her that

The bell over the door rang, Rumpelstiltskin barely looked up when he realized it was Regina who stormed in, "What kind of joke does your daughter think you're playing?"

"Are you going to be specific or are we playing the guessing game?" he demanded.

"Your child, oh wait sorry, _Charming and Snow's_daughter," she smirked and he wanted to kill her, "broke into my vault. She made off with my hearts."

Rumpelstiltskin looked up and smiled proudly and he had to admit he felt a twinge of relief. That was his girl, "Did she, now?"

Regina leaned forward, "We had a deal. She stays out of my way, I stay out of hers."

Rumpelstiltskin gave her a condescending smile, "Perhaps someone told her just how well you keep your word."

Regina glowered at him and it only made him smirk wider, "Fine example you're setting, teaching her to break a deal. How unlike you, I thought you bragged on only ever breaking one."

"Emma never agreed to the terms of the arrangement and I honestly don't see how her taking a bunch of enchanted hears is any way affecting you. It's not as if you can do anything with them anyway with about maybe one or two exceptions. It doesn't get in your way and it bothers no plans of yours. Emma is just…taking steps to ensure that you remain true to your side of our bargain. Given your record for keeping your word, I don't think even you could fault her for that."

Regina smirked, "Your daughter may have taken every heart out of my vault, Rumpelstiltskin…but she didn't take every enchanted heart that I own."

Rumpelstiltskin's smug look fell.

"You're daughter took a big risk, Rumpelstiltskin," Regina said, "And she is about to lose."

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_ Entering into Regina's secret vault was like a whole new experience for Emma and she took a moment at the bottom of the steps to look around. Growing up, she'd come to learn that her father's shop had bits and pieces of home scattered through it, hidden among the Storybrooke goods. Once he'd even shown her some of them which included the mobile that had been hung over her crib when she was a child. But this…the building, the structure, everything in it was from the homeland. _

_ "That's the vault," Jefferson said and pointed straight ahead at some drawers behind a pulled back curtain._

_ "Aren't very many," she remarked, "I thought you said that Regina took so many hearts that she lost count." _

_ And then Emma smiled at a joke she made in her mind. Maybe Regina couldn't count that high. _

_ Jefferson looked as uncomfortable as Emma began feeling when she heard the hearts beating, "She only brought over those who she thought she could use." _

_ Emma looked at the small group of drawers in front of her, "I'm going to look around, there might be more." _

_ "Wouldn't it just be enough to get these?" Jefferson asked._

_ What would be enough would be to fill this place up with cement so that Regina could never get to it again but Emma didn't want to have to explain to Marco what exactly this was and why she was down here, "She might use other hearts as leverage to get these back, I just want to check."  
_

_ Jefferson grabbed the crowbar and followed her, "Regina might've set traps." _

_ There wasn't anything in the first two rooms but when Emma opened the door to the third, she had an unwelcome surprise. _

_ There was a man's body there. Emma immediately drew back in shock and surprise. She would've screamed but Jefferson was behind her and when she fell against him he put one arm around her waist and the other over her mouth. _

_ "Shh. Shh. He's not alive. He's dead. It's just Daniel. It's Daniel." _

_ When Emma stopped struggling, Jefferson took his hands off her. Emma crept forward and put her hands on the glass and stared down at the man. He looked like he was asleep but she knew from the book that he was dead. _

_ Emma knew that the fairy tale world existed and what her father told her was true for years but now…staring at someone in full Enchanted Forest clothes…it just cemented that reality. _

_ "This is your first dead body, isn't it?"_

_ Jefferson's casual asking of that question just made her curious about how many bodies he himself had seen, but it would be inappropriate to ask, "In a town where no one ages and no one ever comes here to stay? Yeah, first body." _

_ "We're not taking him with us, Emma. I hope you know that." _

_ Ew! Like she would suggest such a thing. _

_ "Well you are lonely," she pointed out, "Maybe he's a good listener." _

_ "Oh, aren't you funny?" he said snidely, "Come on, we have work we have to do." _

_ Emma looked at him one final time. This man's death was what started all this. Emma didn't expect to see him and quite frankly…she could've lived her life happily without seeing his corpse. It was VERY disturbing to think that Regina was so bent on revenge and not letting go of the past that she preserved his body for what? Almost thirty years? _

_ Emma turned and walked right beside Jefferson as they walked to the vault. Emma used the crowbar to pull out the first one as it would only open at Regina's hand and she opened the small container that was inside it. _

_ There one of them was, red, glowy and beating. _

_ And Emma felt even sicker. _

_ "I don't suppose we could track everyone down without a heart and shove them in there, can we?" Emma asked as Jefferson looked over her shoulder. _

_ "Probably wouldn't be wise. We don't know whose heart belongs to whom and since we're without magic…walking up to someone and trying to shove a beating heart in their chest would probably end with it exploding or something." _

_ Wonderful visual there._

_ Emma took a breath and shoved the crowbar against the next drawer. They'd wasted enough time, they had work to do._

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Thanks to the day before that she and Jefferson spent digging a hole in the woods wide enough to hide the hearts and then stealing all of them the night before, burying them, and dispersing the rest of the dirt elsewhere in the woods so that they couldn't be found, Emma was dead on her feet at the sheriff's station.

Even Graham seemed to notice. Since she'd been working for him, he seemed to notice every mood she was in, "You alright today, Emma?"

"Yeah, it's just…," she looked for something to be wrong and found an excuse that even sent her father running, "Female stuff."

"Oh," he said and turned back to his office abruptly.

Growing up there was a part of Emma that hadn't liked him because she knew he was in league with the queen. But now that she was older, she knew it was far more complicated than that and despite herself and the dangers she knew it would mean for him because of Regina….she genuinely liked him. He was always so nice to her and he tried to make her comfortable throughout this arrangement which would be ending soon.

"Sheriff?"

Emma tensed at Regina's voice. She expected this would happen but she wasn't looking forward to it. It figured Regina wouldn't have the bravery to face her with her father in the room.

These three months since Regina found out, Emma had lost her fear of her and it'd turned into full blown hate. Rumpelstiltskin warned her that having that attitude towards Regina wasn't right and wasn't healthy. Emma couldn't help it. It was hard NOT to hate someone who would kill you if given the opportunity.

"Madam Mayor," Graham said jovially and Emma cringed liked she always did because she knew the truth of their relationship, "What can I do for you?"

"Emma and I have something we need to discuss, could you give us a few minutes?"

"Why?" he asked and the happiness dropped from his voice, "Is she in trouble?"

"No, of course not," Regina said, "I just need to talk to her…about the possibility of her father's surprise birthday."

Emma scoffed at the horrible lie and even Graham looked confused. As if Mr. Gold wouldn't shoot all the guests if they tried that.

He shrugged and left and when Regina closed the doors, Emma stood, ready for her fight.

"Do you know what kind of a person breaks into someone else's place and takes what doesn't belong to them?" Regina began, "A coward."

Emma didn't even have to think long for a barb of her own, "Do you know what kind of person rips people's hearts out and commits multiple rapes on a man because they didn't kill someone? An evil vicious psychopath."

Oh, that got Regina angry, "What did you do with my hearts, you little thief?"

Oh good, they were getting right to the um…heart of the matter, "To be fair, they're not really 'your' hearts are they? They belong to other people that you screwed over."

"Where are they?" Regina demanded.

"They're safe," Emma assured her, "Don't worry; I'm not going to go trying to shove them in people's chests or anything. You didn't label them and it would probably end badly."

Regina wasn't amused. Without a word, she reached into her purse and pulled out another heart container and Emma's eyes grew. No…it couldn't be, they'd gotten all of them. Both Emma and Jefferson had checked two times each.

"Do you know who this belongs to?" Regina asked and pulled out the beating heart. Emma paled but said nothing. She'd lost, she'd missed one, "This belongs to our resident sheriff."

"It wasn't in the vault," Emma said. It was more of a statement than a question.

"No Emma, it wasn't. This is the Huntsman's heart and as you already know he's…_very _important to me."

The way Regina said that made Emma feel sick.

"And on top of that, he's the sheriff which means he's an authority of the town. Do you really think that I would be so careless as to leave his heart with the others?"

Emma stared at her and decided to call her bluff, "You're lying. That's not his. And if it was, then you just pretty much told me why you wouldn't squeeze it."

Regina's content mask slipped and Emma saw the furious evil vicious woman that she already knew existed. Without a word, she began to squeeze and Emma immediately rushed for her. It might not be Graham's but it was someone else's and they weren't about to die because of something that she did.

The only thing that stopped her was the sound of someone outside the doors that gave a cry of pain and collapsed.

Regina stopped squeezing when Emma stopped rushing towards her. IT was Graham's heart. She still had Graham's heart and Emma knew that she'd lost.

"Tonight is a town council meeting but you won't be there. You'll be in my vault putting the hearts back. If anyone asks, you'll tell them that you were sick. But you'll do exactly what I say and you'll put them all back. You and whoever helped you."

The lie came easily to protect Jefferson, "No one helped me. I did it by myself."

"I doubt you moved out all those hearts."

"I've been moving them out all week, I can't' believe you didn't notice."

Regina's eyes darkened as she searched Emma's face for the lie. Emma held her gaze and revealed nothing.

"They'll be in your vault," Emma assured her.

Regina nodded, "They better."

She turned to leave and Emma waited till she was gone before she rushed out into the hall and found Graham unconscious.

He was breathing, but barely.

"Graham," she whispered through emerging tears. She had to get to an ambulance, she had to get to her father, she had to get to Jefferson….no, she couldn't get to Jefferson because now, Regina would have someone watching her at all times.

She closed her eyes, she'd failed and now others were paying the price for her negligence.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the sheriff's unconscious body and went to the phone to call his ambulance.


	36. Chapter 36

As Emma sat curled in the hospital waiting room, she knew that she had only herself to blame for this and only herself to rely on when putting all the hearts back. She wasn't about to ask Jefferson, she didn't want him getting caught.

_Don't cry. _

"Emma?"

She looked up at her father's voice and the tears came anyway. Rumpelstiltskin's unemotional face immediately crumbled like it always did when Emma was upset like this.

"Dad, I messed up," she whispered so no one else could hear. Anyone there would probably say she was crying because she was the one that found Graham, "I thought that since she had control with the hearts that she owned, then I could take that control from her and save everyone and I missed one because she had it and now Graham nearly died because of me."

He put his hand on her wrist, "Did she hurt you?"

Emma shook her head, "No, dad. She didn't."

Rumpelstiltskin exhaled a sigh of relief and seemed to gather his thoughts together a bit better. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at her, "You stole hearts."

"Well not the way that she does it, but yeah," Emma swallowed, ready for her lecture about being reckless, "I did."

Rumpelstiltskin looked ahead, "You should've told me."

"If I had, you never would've let me do it."

His silence was confirmation of that he wouldn't have and Emma realized that maybe she should run ideas by him before acting out on them.

"What you did was very stupid," he told her, "And it was reckless. You could've gotten hurt and something might've happened to Jefferson or Grace because I know that roped him into this scheme of yours. However, you should know that I found it was also brave that you still did it knowing what Regina was capable of and saving everyone was a very heroic thing to do, and I am…very proud of you."

Emma tensed, he'd told her that he loved her several times but with the exception of her grades or her training, or that day she protected Grace…he barely ever said that he was proud.

"I failed though."

"And that's very unfortunate," he said and she heard that he was upset for her, "But you will have to learn eventually, Emma…is that while good always overcomes evil in the end…you will have to lose some battles. Now this was a large battle to lose, and I know that it hurts that you didn't save everyone but isn't it enough to know that you will some day?"

"What would you do?" Emma asked and looked at him.

She watched as his face set and every muscle tensed, "That doesn't matter, Emma."

Emma knew the answer, "You would've let Graham die?"

"I would've sacrificed the one to save the many, yes."

Emma furrowed her brow as she went over that in her mind. She'd often tried to understand her father's mind but she often failed. She knew that he was very old and he really wasn't…_good. _In their sense of the term, he wasn't a good man. However, she never could wrap her mind about how his brain worked. And that usually scared her just as much as it fascinated her.

She drew her knees up, "Do you think I'm wrong for wanting to spare Graham in sacrifice of everyone else?"

He didn't answer the question at first, and the silence spanned out several minutes, "I think…that you're destined to be a hero. And trying to save everyone is what a hero would do. It's not what I would do but I don't pretend to be remotely close to what you'll be and you're shaping up to be now. Whatever decision you make, I'll support you."

A tear slid down Emma's face and her father kissed her cheek. Emma gave a small smile, "Supporting me openly? That's a first."

He cupped her face with his hand and wiped another tear away. The warm look he gave her made her forget…just for a second, her predicament.

"I have some things to do," he told her, "Would you like me to drive you to wherever you hid those things? Please tell me you didn't hide them in Jefferson's basement."

"No, we buried them in the woods."

"Nice hiding place," he noted, "Where?"

Emma managed a mischievous smile, "Like I'd tell you about Jefferson and my secret meeting place."

His smile dropped, "you're not funny."

"I think I'm hysterical."

"I won't have him being my potential son-in-law, Emma."

"Why?" she teased, despite this not being the time, "Because he knows too much?"

"Emma."

They both looked up when they heard Whale from across the room. Emma unfolded her legs from under her and stood, "Yes?"

"He's asking for you."

Emma felt relief and at least one burden was lifted from her shoulders, "He's okay?"

"He'll be fine, it was lucky you were there. You might want to stop getting him so much of Granny's diner food though; I think that's what's giving him heart-."

Emma brushed past him and walked into the room. When she saw Graham, she took a step back in shock. He was so…pale. Not even like Archie pale but even sicklier. His eyes were sunken in; he even looked gaunter as if that were possible in the last couple of hours. His mouth hung slightly open as if he was dead and Emma realized that this was her fault.

She'd never seen a sick person before. Well she'd seen plenty of sick people, that wasn't true. But ….they had aches and pains and they got sick from colds and pneumonia…or they had accidents that could easily be repaired…not like this. Not to where they nearly died.

And it was because of her.

Graham opened his eyes, and managed a smile, "Hey you."

She put her hands in her pockets and walked up to him, "Interesting way to take a vacation."

"Well when your paycheck is negligible and you live in Maine, you become desperate to do anything to get a few days off."

Emma's smile faltered as she stared at how broken he looked and the tears slid down her face anew, "I'm sorry."

"They tell me that I might've died if you hadn't been there," he said with a smile, "They say you saved my life. You don't have to be sorry for anything."

Emma lowered her gaze and felt ashamed that she would even consider listening to her father and letting Graham die. No, not after all he'd done for her. Lives that weren't hers may be expendable to her father's but they weren't expendable to her.

"How would you like a job working for the station?"

Emma looked up sharply at that and when she realized she'd be interacting with Regina more, she shook her head, "I don't…I don't think that's a good idea."

"Emma, someone should always be at the station. And I could use some assistance in managing things. You'd get paid and when you get old enough to graduate, you can be a deputy."

Emma looked to the door, she really shouldn't be there.

"…and there's dental," he continued, as if that was something that could hook her in.

"Emma," Whale called to her, "He needs his rest."

Emma swallowed, "I don't think that I should."

"Why don't you think about it?" he said, "It's been a rough day."

There was nothing to think about but she would humor him because he almost died today, "I'll…I will, I'll think about it."

Yeah, because Regina would TOTALLY let that happen.

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Before she left the hospital; Emma, like she always made a habit to do, paid her biological father a visit. She didn't sit down to talk with him like she sometimes did. That was the only way that she could really 'know' him is if she did that. Her dad had sort of told her a bit about him but he didn't know much. Jefferson didn't even know him at all, so he was hardly a help.

But today, she didn't go inside the room; she just stood looking through the windows, "Hi Charming."

She didn't call him 'dad.' She never did. In her mind, even though it wasn't biological and none of this was Charming's fault…Rumpelstiltskin was her dad.

That was where Regina found her, "Ms. Swan, I don't see you with a shovel or a key in your hand; am I to assume that you're backing out of our deal?"

Emma set her jaw, the temperamental side of her should like nothing more to grab Regina and shove her through the glass window that was almost similar to the glass coffin her mother had been buried once a long time ago. However, she didn't think that was very heroic, "No."

"I thought as much," Regina said arrogantly, "You've made a wise decision."

"This won't be over," Emma threatened.

"I hope for Graham's sake that it is," Regina said and watched her biological father with her. Regina's smirk turned into a frown as the seconds stretched on, "He wasn't meant to live past the curse."

Emma felt her blood run cold. She couldn't react, if she did then either Graham would die or her biological father would and she couldn't watch it happen.

Regina checked her nails, "We had him on the floor bleeding out. It was the perfect solution…Snow White could never REALLY be happy with her true love that she fought so hard for dead. And it would be a bit of poetic justice as far as I was concerned but I digress. She already lost out on your childhood and now she wouldn't have him with her should the curse be broken. By the way, I wouldn't have known you were meant to break the curse if Rumpelstiltskin hadn't said anything to me when he was in the prison cells so you have him to thank for that. He created the curse too by the way."

Regina was lying, she made the curse. Emma knew it, her father AND Jefferson had told her.

Regina was known to be a liar. It wouldn't' be the first time she tried to mess with Emma's mind.

"At any rate," Regina said, "I had a nice little happy ending for your adopted father and mother too. And I KNOW you would've enjoyed it considering you never had one of your own-."

"One what?" Emma demanded.

"Charming was supposed to die, I was going to make your mother and your adopted father married in this world. Now isn't that an interesting thought? Those two in each other's arms for 28 years while your biological father was dead and so was his true love? Somehow your father overrode the ending I suppose, which was a shame because now I don't get to be entertained by that fallout."

Emma cringed, the idea of the two she considered her parents doing…_it…._was now enough to make her want to use something to wash out her mind. They'd unknowingly be other people who did not love each other and her mother's husband just died and Rumpelstiltskin lost his true love and it was just a horrifying thought. One that they could never recover from just like a lot of people who were going to wake up and realize that the person they might be married or related to wasn't their loved ones at all.

"Now that I think of it, it certainly would've been even more delicious if Charming did live and I managed to have your adopted father and mother together but it wasn't meant to happen, I suppose."

Oh, Emma hated her so much. Regina looked for anger in Emma's eyes but Jefferson had taught her how to stay unemotional. This was weird because he was one of the most emotional men that she knew but he'd apparently taught her well.

Regina sighed in disappointment, "I expect everything to be in place when I arrive after the council meeting, Ms. Gold," Regina said, "Which probably means that you should start putting them back right now."

Emma felt her composure waiver and Regina smirked, "Thank you Emma, You've shown me today how weak you are."

Emma waited till she was gone before she let what Regina said sink in.

She just barely made it to the bathroom to vomit.

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Emma was already sore when she grabbed the shovel and started digging into the ground. The stress was aching inside her and the tears came again as she knew that no matter what she decided, she lost.

"Emma?"

Emma jumped and turned when she heard her father's voice. He was still wearing his suit, and had that little apron on him.

She wiped away the tears and smiled, "What are you doing here?"

"Followed you," he also held a shovel, "Let's get this done, shall we?"

Emma nodded and slammed the shovel into the earth again, "Dad?"

"Hm?"

She wanted to ask him if Regina was right. If he cast the curse and started all this. If he knew this would all happen and encouraged it. But something told her not to ask; sometimes she forgot that he was the most powerful being in the enchanted forest. She forgot how horrible he made himself sound in the stories he told her when she was a child.

If he knew this would happen, and he knew that Regina would rip apart her family when she was a baby…did that mean that he'd planned to get his hands on her when she was born? He said that he'd only planned to fund Snow White's and her survival when they got here but what if that was a lie? What if he'd planned from the beginning for Snow to go into labor and give birth beforehand so that she was his?

Or worse, what if her mother got here and Rumpelstiltskin only funded her if he could have Emma?

Emma pushed back the thoughts from her mind. She literally did not have the energy to think of that while trying to fix her own mess.

"Nothing," she finished when she remembered that he was waiting for her to say something.

"Did you all honestly start without me?"

Emma looked up and smiled brightly when she saw Jefferson with his own shovel, "What are you doing here?"

"It's my mess, too," he said and smiled back at her, "I figured she had a backup plan when I saw the ambulance at the Sheriff's office. I thought it was you that was injured. I nearly came after Regina but then I saw it was just Graham."

_Just Graham. _Did men's lives mean so little to these two as long as she was safe? She didn't feel so happy to see either one of them all of a sudden.

Jefferson realized that she was upset, "Are you alright?"

She managed a nod, "Just tired."

"Understandable," he said, "I usually had the same look when dealing with Regina too."

He happily rubbed her arm as if he didn't have a care in the world and left Emma standing there. She looked down and tried to focus on the work and she couldn't stop her mind from working a million miles an hour.

She knew that she was a pawn to a point…but she never really stopped to consider the scope of how much her father and Jefferson and Regina and everyone else might be playing her.

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They were all there.

Regina smiled when she stared at the drawers in front of her. She supposed she should've made them pay for damages too no matter how minuscule. But then she'd have to pay for people to come in here and fix it and they might ask questions. Besides, the damages weren't too bad. If anything it'd remind her of her victory over Emma and that little brat's attempt to get one over on her.

She smirked and walked back to her car. She opened the trunk and took out the box which held Graham's heart.

Emma would behave now. Regina was certain of it.

She opened the box, just to make sure…she should never underestimate Rumpelstiltskin, she was still certain that she had bruises on her throat from where Rumpelstiltskin had grabbed her. It was uncalled for in Regina's opinion. It's not like she had tried to hurt her, and if Emma was meant to fight her then anything Regina did first was self-defense.

When she saw what was in the box, she nearly dropped it in shock, "Wha- how?"

A folded up piece of construction paper was the only thing in there. She grabbed it and unfolded it to see a cutout red heart with a note attached.

_Now we know how weak you are too _

_ -R_

Regina cursed and hurled the box and the mausoleum.

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Rumpelstiltskin smirked when he saw the beating heart in the box, "You got it."

"Obviously," Jefferson said and shut the box,

"Wonderful," he muttered, "She wouldn't expect you of all people to break into her trunk hopefully."

"You think she's mad?" Jefferson said enthusiastically, "Did you like that I overheard what Regina said and told it to you so that you could use it against her and it be ironic that way?"

"I hope she's furious," Rumpelstiltskin said and accepted the box…while wearing his gloves. He liked to think he had some class now.

Jefferson shivered and shoved his hands in his pockets, "What's to stop Regina from threatening us with another heart?"

"She won't," Rumpelstiltskin said and looked at his daughter sleeping in the passenger seat, "She knows I have the heart and I won't be as merciful as Emma on Graham's life if anyone that I care about is put in danger."

Jefferson nodded, "You have no intention of restoring his heart, do you?"

"As long as this is my daughter's safety on the line and this is my only real leverage? No."

"And you'll keep your deal? When Emma gets her power, you'll send Grace and I to our home world with no memory of this life?"

"Of course dearie," Rumpelstiltskin said, going a little nasal for old time's sake, "Just make sure you keep your end of the deal and don't reciprocate any of Emma's feelings about you to the point where you'd want to take her along."

Jefferson shook his head, "That would never happen."

"Doubtful," Rumpelstiltskin practically snarled, "I know how you are with blondes."


	37. Chapter 37

It was a gut-wrenching feeling for Emma, waking up the next morning in her own bed to know that she was going to stare at Regina's smug face and know that she had lost everything.

Emma had slept through the night without waking up but she still didn't feel like she had sleep. She woke up early and got breakfast ready for her and her father. He handled dinner if she handled breakfast; they usually alternated on who made lunch.

She was already sitting at the table by the time her father came in. He looked fresh. He was wearing a suit, he looked rested, and he had actually shaved today instead of keeping that bit of stubble that he claimed kept the ladies away.

"Hello young one," he greeted her with a fatherly kiss to the top of her head.

"Why are you so chipper?" she asked and took a bite of her eggs, "After yesterday, I thought you'd be as upset as I am."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it," he sat down and reached for his fork.

Emma wanted to ask why he wouldn't worry. They lost horribly yesterday but then she nearly kicked herself for her stupidity. If it wasn't worried then it meant that he had something up her sleeve, "What did you do?"

Her father smirked and put something wrapped in cloth on the table. Emma grabbed what felt like a box and then nearly dropped it when she felt it move. She knew he was watching her carefully when bulled the cloth off the box and opened it to see the heart.

A part of her was horrified at what she was looking at, another part of her was relieved that now she and the others might be safe, and a really SMALL part of her wanted to remind him that she HAD been eating.

"Is this-?" she started.

"Yes dearie, it's his."

"You got it," it was a statement and then Emma smiled, "We could get the other hearts too! We could-!"

Rumpelstiltskin smirk turned into a frown, "No."

"But she doesn't have leverage anymore! She doesn't have Graham's heart, we could save everyone."

"I don't want you near that vault again," he said harshly and then his face and voice softened, "Emma, we don't need a hundred hearts to be able to save everyone. We just need one."

Emma bit her lip, "I don't think using Graham's heart as leverage is a thing we should do. If we use him as a pawn, then what makes us better than Regina?"

"Emma, I know that you're on the side of good, darling….but you're not going to win against Regina without getting your hands dirty at one point. I'm not going to be able to shield you from that forever but considering you walked out with all of Regina's hearts yesterday, I think you know that sometimes you're going to have to play a little rough.

"But dad, stealing and threatening to kill someone are two different things."

"I'm not going to kill him."

"Do I have your word on that?" she demanded.

Rumpelstiltskin looked at her and she could see that he was extremely hurt that she said that. Emma hadn't meant to hurt him but there was just something about some of the things that Regina said yesterday that was resonating with her, "Of course you have my word. Why wouldn't you?"

He gave her his word, he wouldn't break it. He never did.

"I won't kill him, but Regina doesn't have to know that," he continued, "If we can keep one heart under our control then she'll behave."

"What happens if she decides he's not worth it?"

"She won't," Rumpelstiltskin assured her, "Because it would mean, in her mind, that I would kill Graham and she'd lose."

Emma didn't even want to imagine it, "Will you make it to where Regina can't use him anymore?"

"Easily," he said.

A few minutes of silence passed. It was a victory, Emma should be satisfied. In some ways, it was a huge victory because they had something that Regina would kill to get back; Emma just hoped she wouldn't resort to that.

Then why didn't Emma feel happy? More relieved?

Was it because she knew that Regina would find a way to strike?

Or because the idea of threatening Regina using Graham's heart had turned her stomach?

"Let me have the heart," she said before she could really think about what she was asking of her father.

He looked up sharply, "What?"

"I can hide it. Regina would suspect that you took it and she might not think that I know about it, I know a place in the woods where she'd never think to look…it'll be right against the town border, no one would dare get that close, least of all Regina or her minions."

"Emma," he said tersely, "This is the only thing we have to keep Regina from attacking you."

"We don't know that she won't," Emma said, "She could find a way to strike without giving herself away-."

"Emma, anything happens to you and I'll know that she's responsible," he told her.

"She can attack emotionally and mentally too."

"Then I shall give it to Jefferson."

"Dad, one of these days she's going to figure out that he's involved in this too and his house will be torn apart if she even remotely suspects he's involved. You talk about how I need to start learning how to be the savior but when I take steps to do it, you get angry. Let me do this."

"Because your ideas are usually not thought out and incredibly reckless."

"Then this is as good a time to learn as any," she said. She really hoped she didn't have to explain to him that the idea of leaving her fate to a heart in her father's hands; a heart whose life her father already showed little care for just didn't sit well with Emma.

Her father thought about it and shifted in his seat, he gave her a smirk that told her he thought he was going to win the argument "And what should happen if you make another mistake and Regina finds the heart?"

Emma kept her face blank. She was going to hate herself by saying this. It was wrong and she knew it. However, she'd just realized from her father's own mouth that when someone THOUGHT you were capable of doing something, that was just as powerful as actually doing it; even if you had no intention of following through.

"Then I'll take the hearts out again," she said, "And I'll bring a few people down to see her dead boyfriend. And then everyone will know what kind of person she is. "

It might've been a lie. It might not have been a lie. The idea seemed like a good one now that she thought about it. So did removing the hearts and torching the chambers with Daniel inside but Emma wasn't sure she was ready to go THAT far.

Her father studied her, as if he was trying to figure out if she was bluffing or not.

The most horrifying thing, Emma realized, wasn't that she did it so well that he didn't know.

It was that she didn't know either.

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The joy of their victory was short lived. The next two weeks passed far too slowly for Emma. She didn't sleep as well as she wanted, she failed two tests, her grades and patience were starting to slip as she waited for Regina to make her next move.

She buried it right next to the town border. Jefferson found her a good secluded spot where she could see around her so she could make sure she wasn't followed.

Emma wasn't sure, but she thought that she had hurt her father when she asked for the heart instead of letting him handle it. He didn't ask why, but his eyes pierced into hers as if looking at her and she feared that he would somehow uncover that some of the things Regina said had taken root.

_He created the curse too by the way_

The thing about Regina was that she as so good at her lies and honesty that Emma sometimes couldn't tell which was which. Her father thought differently, he called Regina a dreadful liar all the time but Regina talked with such self-assurance that sometimes it was hard to tell.

Two weeks passed and they just…waited. Jefferson really reported nothing and Emma was so stressed out that she felt exhausted all the time. The only person that looked worse than her was her father. Emma was certain he was losing weight as well as sleep.

Thankfully, some of the time was passed when her father had allowed her to take the job of the office secretary. Regina had no choice but to let her and if there was as good a place as any to spy and make sure Regina wasn't stepping out of line, it was the sheriff's office. Calls came in and out, Sidney came in looking for a scoop and he was usually drunk so he'd tell her whatever she wanted if she gave him peppermints.

And at least her father had arranged it to where Graham wasn't Regina's toy anymore, so her visits stopped being as frequent. In fact, Emma wasn't sure she HAD seen her in two weeks.

However, that didn't stop Emma from feeling like she was under constant supervision. The only time she didn't was when she was out for her jogs. She never went the same route twice but she always made sure that she crossed to where the heart was to make sure no one dug it up.

Two weeks into her wait, she didn't go jogging. She'd fallen yesterday and twisted her knee. Limping home had been agonizing and her father had allowed her to take the day off school because of how badly it swelled. It was back to its normal size now, but Emma was grateful for the time off. Just to rest for a day…when was the last time she had that without having school or work to go to?

Emma was catnapping on the couch when someone knocked on the door. Reluctantly Emma pulled herself off the couch and limped to the door. She opened it when she saw Jefferson.

Something was wrong.

"We need to talk," he told her. Emma held the door open and he shook his head, "No, not here. Your dad can't know I was here and if anyone saw me coming in here with just you in the house…."

Emma nodded and grabbed her coat. Jefferson used a strong hand to help her down the many steps and she walked with him to the car.

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Emma stood right behind the border to Storybrooke. Even with his extremely quiet attitude and him being upset with something, this wasn't odd. At least for him. He was always a bit eccentric but maybe that's why she was always drawn to him.

He stood on the road, at the border and Emma stood next to him.

"I don't know why you claim to care about me," he told her, finally breaking the silence after they stood there for about ten minutes, "I'm not a good man."

Emma looked up at him, "You weren't a good man, once. You changed."

He smiled mockingly into space, "And how would you know that, Emma? You spend a few hours with me a week. For the rest of the time, I'm in a house with nothing but walls that separate me from my daughter and I can't talk to her. I can't reach her. I can't-…I live in a house with everything I could give her and she's not there to accept it. IT's not her."

"I know how that feels," Emma told him in an attempt to comfort him. She reached out to put a hand on his shoulder but he flinched away.

"I live on a hill with two conflicting memories and personalities and I feel as if I'm going insane every day. Do you know how hard this is? Struggling to stay one step ahead of Regina and keeping someone else's daughter who's not even with her real parents either safe? You're my one hope for seeing Grace again and every day I have to watch you to make sure you don't get hurt and this could all crash down because of Regina."

Emma saw some kind of angry grief in his eyes and she took a step back, "Jefferson? You're really starting to freak me out, what's wrong?"

"You're my one hope and I have to do this. You'll never forgive me for this, I know that you won't but you should know that I never wanted to do this. I never wanted for this to happen but it's the only way..."

He started towards her and Emma stumbled backwards. Her knee screamed in pain and she winced as she felt Jefferson's hands dig into her arms. Her heart immediately started racing when she realized he was trying to pull her over the border of the town.

"No," she started struggling against him, "Jefferson, what are you-. Don't! Don't! Please Jefferson! Don't-."

She tried to dig her heels in the asphalt but she couldn't get a grip. She screamed but this far out of town, no one would hear her unless Rumpelstiltskin's bodyguard had happened to see her leaving with him.

He was stronger than her. He was going to throw her over the border. She started crying, "Don't Jefferson! Please don't. I'll die!"

She noticed his eyes were red and swollen as if he'd been crying and she hadn't seen it, "You won't die."

Emma slammed a fist into his nose. His head jerked backwards and she tried to run. He recovered immediately. Emma had punched him several times before when they sparred. He was used to her strength.

His hand closed on her jacket, Emma's feet nearly went out from under her. She slipped out of her coat, but while she was struggling with the zipper, he moved his leg in front of hers so that she tripped. When Emma hit the ground, the wind was driven out of her.

Jefferson grabbed two fistfuls of her hair and pulled her back towards him. Emma's back and neck bent almost unnaturally. She drove her elbow behind him and it connected with his face. His head snapped backwards again and he released her. Emma struggled to get up but Jefferson was still faster. He was always faster.

He grabbed her by the back of her pants and her tank top and used the momentum of her speed she had started to run with to swing her around towards the edge of the town. He released her and she screamed in horror when she couldn't stop and she fell and rolled.

Emma curled up and started crying as she waited for the pain and death that her father had told her would happen if she tried to leave town. Her body was rocking with sobs as she just fought her best friend and he just killed her.

Nothing happened.

It was several seconds…maybe minutes before she reluctantly pulled herself from the fetal position and looked around. She was past the border, far past it…

Jefferson was kneeling on the ground, she saw that he was rocking back and forth…maybe he was crying…she was too far away to tell but she did see that he was completely hunched over as if he was completely defeated. His ran his hands through his fair frantically and she could hear him whispering "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Her father had told her that she was part of the community when she became his daughter. He told her that whatever would happen to him if he tried would happen to her.

_He created the curse too by the way_

Emma felt her stomach clench and her mind began working faster than she could even process what was happening.

If Regina created and cast the curse then she would surely know about anything that would break it. Then how did she not know about Emma's existence right under her nose until recently? Why did she never really figure out who Emma was? Wouldn't she take great pains to know about the newcomer if she knew that Emma would break the curse in 28 years?

And then something hit her. Something that she hadn't thought about because she had been too scared at the time to really understand what was being said. She hadn't thought much of it because once upon a time she had actually trusted her father. Something he'd said when Regina revealed she knew who Emma was…but Emma had never…

_When I put in the allowances for Emma to be raised safely in town, there was a chance for loopholes to be had_

How could her father put loopholes in Regina's curse if it was Regina was the creator of it?

Her father had created the curse.

Her father had told her that she couldn't leave town and she was over the border and nothing had happened to her.

Her father had lied. He'd been lying to her since she was a child. Just like Regina…just like Jefferson…everyone else was living a lie.

Emma began hyperventilating and she wrapped her arms around herself and started wailing in grief as she saw her entire life crumbling out from under her.

**A/N: Oooo, why would Jefferson do that to his one hope? Dun dun DUN, you'll find out Monday as my Christmas gift to all of you! **

**I did want to take a minute to thank all of you that both read and review. You guys are fantastic. **


	38. Chapter 38

**3 Hours Ago**

Jefferson knew it was probably wrong or…creepy to look forward to see Emma, but his excitement wasn't usually due to feelings he harbored that society here would look down on. (Even though a girl her age being engaged to a man that was his age biologically wasn't something unheard of) In truth, he looked forward to it because not only did it take him out of the monotony of the endless days here but it was nice to have some company. Regina would've happily left him up here to go insane by himself.

He may have helped Regina down the path of what she turned out to be but the consequences were far worse than the actions. Leaving him there with her mother to be emotionally, mentally, and physically tortured? Why? For the father that she later killed? He had turned himself into a better man. He had been a better man for his child and he turned away from that life. In his mind, Regina could've turned away at any time but she didn't. He had helped her far more than he should have and each time it came back to bite him. What was her final payment? Forcing him here, forcing him to live here while remembering and having another personality heaped on him to add to the confusion as he struggled to understand this world.

He'd have probably lost it years ago if not for Emma, and grudgingly he admitted it; Rumpelstiltskin. HE didn't understand her crush on him. Perhaps it was because he paid attention to her and he kept her safe. Maybe she liked the knight in shining armor aspect of him. He wished he could've said his intentions were honorable but he couldn't. He'd started off only doing it because he knew she was important. He hadn't known the precise details at first, but Rumpelstiltskin never dealt with a child that he didn't plan to use, therefore Emma had to be important.

And then over the years, he'd just come to care about her. Not like the way she cared about him, loving a romanticized version of the man that he actually was, but he had come to value her as more than a tool for his goals. She was a lot like him in plenty of aspects…scared, angry, lonely…looking for something better despite having everything. HE supposed her knowing the truth counted as well. Maybe he warmed up to him because he sympathized with her and it made it easier to endure her crush. Who knew?

Today was training day, but Emma had hurt her knee during a jog. Everyone on her street was at work, perhaps he would go down to visit. He would make sure that she was alright, and then tease her that he'd buy her a cane to match her fathers if she wasn't more careful.

He opened the door and frowned when he saw Regina standing on his porch. His blood ran cold when he saw her smirk, "I'd say I wasn't impressed, Jefferson; but I'd be lying."

He hated her, he hated her smirk and her dark mocking eyes as she looked him over and a vicious smile formed on her lips "What do you want, Regina?"

"You look well," she said admiringly.

He scoffed at her audacity and shoved his hands in his pockets. The days of any attraction between them were long gone, "Lots of exercise. You did give me a house with the bathroom on the far side of the house from where my bedroom is at."

"Yes and I'm sure you got a lot of exercise digging up hearts with Emma," she practically purred

Jefferson kept his face blank, "Making up stories to entertain yourself again? You know how they say it's a sign of insanity."

She scowled, "Oh stop it Jefferson, surely we're past those games by now. I know that she's had help besides her father and you're the only one here that remembers so logic would dictate that it would be you that has been helping her."

He didn't reveal anything, she had nothing but a whole lot of guessing and he wasn't going to reveal anything based on guesswork.

Regina tried to walk past him but he blocked her with his arm, "Leave."

"I have a proposition for you."

"I don't want to hear a deal your proposing based on speculation about some relationship you think I have with Rumpelstiltskin's kid."

"Well I suppose you don't want to talk, Jefferson…you think you've joined the winning side. I'm here to tell you that you haven't."

She swaggered past him and into his house. He let her in the house and slammed the door, "What makes you think I just won't kill you here?"

"Because I imagine Rumpelstiltskin won't let you. You always did follow him like a puppy ready to please his master. Trying to put a bid in for his daughter?"

Why did everyone always assume that?

He gave her a disgusted look, "Say what you want and leave my house, the best thing about this world is that I don't have to deal with you fi I don't want to."

"Ah, yes," Regina said with a smirk, "You think that Emma could defeat me…which…come on, Jefferson…do you honestly think that she could break my curse?"

"She seems to be doing pretty well for herself so far."

"She doesn't have any idea of what she's doing," Regina hissed, "She's sixteen years old and has no understanding of what magic is other than stories."

"Emma has Rumpelstiltskin," Jefferson said and gave her an arrogant grin, "Which in my eyes is a pretty big advantage."

"Emma could have a dozen Rumpelstiltskin's on her side but that won't help her break the curse unless she actually wants to do it. And from what I've seen…the idea of her being the savior sickens her as much as it does me. Emma's nothing but a pawn in this little world. Rumpelstiltskin took an innocent child and turned her into a piece of a chess board. Now I know that the Jefferson…many years ago wouldn't care…in fact he'd blatantly encourage it. However I know the Jefferson that's a father of his own daughter…would be disgusted at the idea of someone's child being used as a pawn. You are only on Rumpelstiltskin's side because you have to be but I can offer you a better outcome."

Jefferson scoffed, "After what you did to me."

"I brought you with me," she told him, "I put you in the same world with your daughter and I let you remember."

"You left me in Wonderland in the first place. You still keep my daughter from me and you gave me an alternate set of personality traits and memories while making sure I stayed isolated and went insane," he hissed and walked towards her angrily. He wasn't sure what he'd do when he reached her. Maybe he'd kill her. He doubted that would put a wedge in the relationship between Rumpelstiltskin and Emma and himself. At least not for very long.

"I can change that for you."

Jefferson stopped and started laughing, "What makes you think I would believe that? This world doesn't have magic, Regina. I've tried. Rumpelstiltskin told me that it won't happen and he's far more addicted to magic than you could hope to be"

"Well, he's lying then because I happen to have some, not a lot but…enough…I imagine he has some of his own as well…old habits and all that."

"And what makes you think that I would help you after everything you've done for me?"

"Because unlike Rumpelstiltskin, I'll use my magic to write you a new ending. You can have your daughter here. Forget the past sixteen years."

"Do you think that I'm that stupid?" he demanded, "And what would you want with my abilities?"

"Because we both know about that little problem that I'm going to be facing soon, I need to get an object from my world…an enchanted apple…"

"You want to hurt Emma," he said accusingly and then glared at her, "No."

"Oh Jefferson," she rolled her eyes, "Tell me that you're not getting sentimental on me."

"Do you really think that she'd eat what you give her and that Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't find out and retaliate?"

"Oh, I'll make sure he eats it too," she shrugged.

"And what makes you think that I won't tell them what you're planning?"

"Well, you could," she shrugged, "But I'll find another way to get at them and you'll have missed your chance to be reunited with your daughter. If you want, you can tell them about my offer and they'll just sit there and wonder for the rest of their lives if they can trust you or not. And you know that Rumpelstiltskin will, especially. So protective of his investments, that little imp. "

Those words came like a blow and she smirked. He must've given her the reaction that she wanted.

Without a word, Jefferson jerked open the front door and waited for her to leave. She knew she won, he could tell by the way she strutted, "I see you'll need some time to think about it."

Jefferson slammed the door behind him and ran a hand through his hair.

They would trust him, he would say no and they would trust him because he was upfront with what had happened. They would stop her and she'd be angry and all would be right with the world.

And then she'd try to strike at Emma; again and again until one of her attempts actually got her. They had to do something more permanent. Killing Regina was an option but it would break the curse and Grace would have two lives fighting for control in her head. Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't help him because he claimed that Emma wasn't ready yet. Besides, something would stop him…everything was set to break when Emma was 28, not a moment sooner.

At least, that was if Emma lived to see 28.

He stood and grabbed his keys and his coat. The problem with Regina was that she had a way of presenting something to someone in a way that it could only benefit them. She'd learned well from Rumpelstiltskin and the thought of having his daughter and he with new memories was all too tempting. Because from what the imp told him; when the curse was broken Grace would have a duel set of memories in her head. Jefferson wanted everything to do with avoiding THAT fate for her.

A plan formed a reckless plan that would get him killed more than likely but it would have to be done. Regina would just keep trying to attack Emma and now that she had plans to attack Rumpelstiltskin, he had to step in. Things were going to have to either pick up or change for everyone's sake…

Because he wasn't just doing this to protect Emma from Regina…

He was doing it to protect Emma from himself as well.

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**Present Time**

Jefferson knew that Emma would react badly when he showed her that she had far more freedom than she thought she did.

But when he saw his friend…this child huddled on the ground hyperventilating and crying, it nearly destroyed him. He'd nearly stopped when she started fighting and crying but it had been far too late to turn back and he had to throw her over. She wouldn't believe him if he'd told her that she could just walk over. Her faith in her father had to be shattered to get this to work.

And her faith in him.

He wasn't sure which hurt worse.

Emma sat crying on the concrete for several minutes before she pulled herself together. She shot at him so fast he was only aware that she was on him when he hit the ground and was straddling him. He made no move to defend himself as she pounded at his face and calling him every foul name she had in this world's vocabulary through her tears.

"Why?" she demanded through her sobs, "Why would you do that?"

"You had to know," was all he offered, "Because you have to want to be the savior in order to be the savior and you can't do that if you feel trapped."

She grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and shoved him back down against the asphalt. He'd need to get that concussion seen to that he no doubt had now.

"Then why did you lie to me in the first place?" she screamed.

"Your father lied to you," he said, trying to keep his own emotions from spilling and telling her everything. If he did then she'd want to stay, "I never told you that you couldn't cross."

She was shaking from crying so hard. She climbed off him and stood. He'd hurt her shoulder when he threw her and she hit the pavement, she'd have to get that looked at too…

"I was a pawn," she whispered and he lowered his eyes.

"You were the firstborn," he told her, "Rumpelstiltskin always asks for the firstborn."

She just stood there, looking blankly ahead, "Is that what happened to you?"

"Yes," he told her honestly, "I was one of the firstborn that he dealt with."

"Explains everything," She forced her lips together to hold back another sob and tears fell down her face, "Once when I was young you told me that you were a monster once but you'd changed. But you were wrong and my father was right Monsters never change; they don't understand the difference between good and evil like humans do. That's what makes them monsters, and you still are one. I thought you were my friend. I cared about you. I promised you that I'd get you your daughter back and you did _this._"

"Did what?" he challenged but refused to look at her as he forced himself to twist the knife, "Tore your world apart by showing you that your father as a liar? Just like me? Just like Regina? Just like your mother when she looked at your father after she made the deal with Rumpelstiltskin and just like your father when he pretended to be a prince? I showed you reality."

"You only showed me that you're a desperate lonely man who burns the bridges he builds with people," she spat, "My father was right, people don't change and you certainly never proved him wrong. I was just something for you to amuse yourself with while you waited for me to get my daughter and then you were going to forget I ever existed or helped you. Well now I'm not going to do it, I'm not going to get your daughter back for you because she's better off with that family she's with."

The words stung far harder than they should have. He shouldn't have gotten close to Emma; he shouldn't have revealed himself like this because he should've known that Regina would pull something like this.

He waited until she turned and started to walk away before he sank down again and stared at the border that he could never cross.

But in some ways, he knew he had.

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It went without saying that Rumpelstiltskin had felt Emma's pain when she had twisted her knee. So much so that he had closed up shop a few hours early so that he could go home and spend some time with her. It seemed that she was always up and running around these days, they didn't really take the time to just talk anymore.

Not about Regina, not about being the savior, not about anything but just…normal things that a father and daughter talked about.

He wasn't even sure what that was, but then again this town wasn't society's view of normal and neither were they.

"Emma," he called when he got through the front door, "I'm home."

He heard the sink running in the downstairs bathroom and he thought he heard a quiet sob. He limped toward the bathroom to see that Emma had left the door open and she was standing at the sink.

"Emma? Are you alright?" he walked closer and he felt his stomach clench when he saw that her shoulder was entirely scraped up and she was trying to bandage it as best she could with one hand, "What happened?"

He reached out to touch her arm but she pulled away as if he'd hit her, "Don't _touch _me,"

Now he was definitely confused, he took a second to look her over and saw there were leaves in her hair…smaller scrapes and cuts covered her and her knuckles were bruised, one had a small gash.

She'd been in a fight.

Regina…

"What did she do?" he asked in a panic. He looked her over, she hadn't touched Emma…Regina wouldn't' get her hands dirty like that but she had a whole vault of hearts full of people that she could control.

"Leave me alone," Emma snapped and pulled away again, "It's not her that's hurt me this time."

Jefferson then. Well that made no sense; he knew he was to leave Emma alone today. He was the one that suggested it. And he never hurt Emma, not like this. They sparred a lot and he could get rough with her but he never hurt her this badly. He'd always known that she was smaller and he was far stronger.

She looked at him in such a way that would make a lesser man turn to stone, "You've lied to me…all my life."

He tilted his head, "What are you talking about?"

"You created the curse!" she accused through tears, "You're the reason my family was torn apart. You manipulated Regina and you manipulated my family and you lied to me so that I couldn't leave the town."

He felt the air leave his chest and he took a step forward. He knew this would blow up in his face, "Emma, we need to sit down and talk about this."

She shook her head, "All those years of saying that you were sorry that it was me who had to be the savior."

"I assure you I meant every word."

"I never wanted to be the savior!" she screamed, "You knew that! I told it to you constantly…and held me when I cried myself to sleep and I sat there terrified of what Regina would do to me and you knew all this time that I didn't have to be."

"Yes Emma, you're the only one that can do this, you have to."

"No I don't," she shook her head; "There's a whole world out there that Regina can't touch me in."

His eyes grew as he realized what she was considering, "Emma no! No, you have no idea what that world is like."

"Neither do you!" she snapped, "You're too busy being king of this little town. And why would you care about what I do? I was never anything but an investment for you and you wouldn't care about me otherwise."

Instead of feeling ashamed, he got angry, "You know that's not true."

"Do I?" she demanded, "You're a good actor, that's how you got those deals."

"You know I've sacrificed everything for you to be safe."

"Oh really?" Emma challenged, "And if I told you that I didn't want to be the savior and if I could stop right now and never have to worry about breaking the curse and be normal…would you still love me then? Because that would be sacrificing everything."

He shook his head, "You don't know what you're asking."

"I do," she said stubbornly, "But you're not going to do that, are you? Because you only care about me as long as you reach your goals."

That hurt far more than he was willing to admit and he shook his head again, "You're wrong Emma. You can't because it's too late. The curse is cast and you have to be the savior."

"No I don't," she said angrily, "You can't force me to do this, I have to want it and I don't."

"Oh really?" he challenged, "You don't want to see your parents as they were? You want Regina to win because that'll be what could happen. But luckily it won't because as long as you're alive, the curse will be broken."

"Or if I'm dead."

His hands tightened on his cane and he felt his stomach recoil at the thought, "You know I would never want that."

"You just wanted me as your pawn instead. You didn't want me to live, you didn't care if I was to be happy, you just wanted me to be your pawn! You knew I didn't want it so you told me that I was trapped along with you so that I wouldn't think I had a choice."

"How did you know that you could leave?" he demanded

"What does it matter?" she challenged, "I know I can."

"Emma, I wasn't lying when I said I didn't want this for you. You know how I felt after I held you and by then it was too late."

"You ripped apart my family!" she accused angrily, "And if not me, then you would've done it to someone else. If you didn't corrupt Regina then you would've corrupted someone else. You probably didn't even want my mom to keep me when we crossed over. You would've awakened and had me taken away the second you found me."

"No Emma, you're wrong."

"It wouldn't be the first time you demanded a child for payment," she hissed, "Monsters never change, you said that and I used to disagree but you were right. You all never do. I've been nothing but a toy for you to amuse yourself until you can use me. You don't know what love is because you were too much of a coward to love me like a dad should-."

He felt his temper flare and he stepped towards her. The expression on his face must've terrified her because she paled and took a step back.

"You don't know a thing about how much I love you," he told her through clenched teeth.

"Then tell me that I don't have to be the savior. Tell me that…tell me that I have options. I can go to college and live a life that's not all planned out for me if I wanted to."

HE hesitated, "Because that would be a lie."

Emma looked at him like he struck her, "Why is it so important that we come to this world?"

He refused to answer; doing so would make her believe that he had taken her happiness…the happiness of his daughter and sacrificed it just to see his son again. And she wouldn't be wrong.

His hesitation made Emma's eyes fill with tears, "I hate you so much…I'll never forgive you for this."

Rumpelstiltskin opened his mouth to say something…to say anything but his hesitation a few seconds ago had been the blow needed to drive a wedge between them. There was no turning back from this now. He knew that by creating the curse, lying about it, and trapping her; he'd hurt her far more than Regina ever could.

"I'm sorry," he told her.

"No you're not," she said and brushed past him to run to her room, "You don't know how to be."

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Rumpelstiltskin was going to tell Emma about Bae.

He made that resolve as he drove around town to clear his thoughts. He was going to tell her about Bae and why he did this and he would reiterate why he'd manipulated everything; not because she was a pawn but because he was terrified she'd leave him just like everyone else. He would remind her that he loved her. He loved her so much and they would work through this because they had that sort of a bond.

He made a wrong turn and realized that he was driving towards the border. Maybe it was intentional…maybe he was going to go see what happened there that made Emma decide she could cross over.

Jefferson or Regina was responsible for this, they had to be.

He saw someone past the border and his heart slammed in his chest when he saw that they had a large backpack and Emma's blonde hair.

"No!" he ripped his seatbelt off and opened the door, "No, no, no, no, EMMA!"

She stopped and turned, she was far away but not far enough to where he could see her face. She wasn't angry, but she was sad…she was scared.

"Emma please," He begged, "We can talk about this, I'll tell you everything if you just come back home."

He waited for her to continue the argument but she said nothing. She closed her eyes to stop the tears and he felt himself panic. Didn't she understand? She was the only thing that he had! The only thing that he had to keep him sane, the only person that cared and that he cared for, "Emma! I'm sorry! I love you!"

She tensed and hesitated for a step.

But she kept walking.

It was over.

He sank to his knees and watched as she disappeared around the bend.

She was never coming back.

He had failed and this time he only had himself to blame.


	39. Chapter 39

Rumpelstiltskin was hesitant when he stood at the door in front of him. He had done everything he could think of to make sure Emma was safely returned. When she left, he immediately jumped in his car and flew into action to file a runaway report and he hoped that they didn't live in such a bubble that Emma could escape other police officers undetected. It made no sense that her destiny be out THERE. It was hard enough relying to Graham what was going on but it made it even worse that he had this sheriff's life and will in his hand should he choose to and the man couldn't leave town to go find her. Not that Graham wouldn't, he knew that the sheriff cared enough about Emma to track her down himself if he could leave.

But he couldn't…one of the best trackers in the 23 known magical worlds and he couldn't leave town. How pitifully ironic.

He was dreading the stares that he would get soon, the awkward conversations, the whispers behind his back. He and Emma had kept their father-daughter relationship a mystery for years. Well, he had kept everything a secret for years and she copied him…

…and that was why they were in the mess they were in now.

But he would endure it all; the stares, the points, the whispers, Regina's triumphant smirk, the curious questions as people tried to find out what happened without giving themselves away…he'd put up with it rather than do what he was about to do…

He had to tell her mother that he'd lost her because of his own foolishness. He'd not only failed Emma but he'd failed Snow White and her husband as well. He'd promised that she'd be safe…how was she going to be safe if she was living in world that she didn't belong in and had no clue how it worked? She was only sixteen! And in this world that was still a child!

What had he done? Why couldn't he trust her? Emma of all people? He'd revealed more to her than he had with anyone and she still stayed with him and trusted him and now…and he had lied to her about these two things and now everything was wrong.

He had put too much on her. Too much responsibility and not enough trust. He had never told her about his role in everything because he'd seen how Regina's role in it had affected her. How it'd made Emma hate her for taking away Emma's family and birthright. How was he to tell her what he'd done as well and break her heart?

He'd done it to keep her from leaving him like everyone else did, and now she was gone.

The thought of returning to that empty house alone made him sick. Literally, he felt his stomach recoil.

She was going to spend her night on the side of the road. It'd be cold and she was alone and there was no life but that which lived in the woods for miles. She could get hurt and he couldn't reach her.

What had he done?

He didn't remember knocking…maybe he didn't and Mary had sensed someone at her door…but when she opened it, he knew that he couldn't turn back now and let her hear it from someone else.

"Mr. Gold?" she saw something in his eyes that made her open the door slightly wider, "What's wrong?"

"Emma's gone," he whispered.

Mary Margaret paled, "What?"

He closed his eyes to keep from going into a breakdown. She wasn't just the savior, she was his daughter. He could…still remember when he came to love her as his own that first night and he could remember what she wore and how she'd trusted him…

Oh gods, even if he did get her back, their relationship would never be the same, would it?

"We had a large fight…she left," he felt his voice break, "and I honestly don't think she'll return."

Mary Margaret looked stricken and then gathered her resolve; she turned as if to grab her coat, "We'll just have to get her back."

She could have a whole life without him…if she somehow stayed away when she was 28…what if she started a family, grew old, and died? What if something happened to her and the curse was broken one day and he never saw her again?

She didn't even stick around long enough to say goodbye.

After everything they'd been through. He was the only one that took her in and protected her. He comforted her and kept her safe…

But the only reason she relied on him was because he and Regina had taken away her mother and father. She had every right to be angry and never want to see him again.

He cared about her though, he loved her and he wasn't afraid to admit it.

"We won't get her back," he whispered and came into the house. His leg was throbbing from climbing her stairs. He slipped in a nearby chair and Mary saw the glass on his coat. He would need to replace the display cases but he didn't even have the strength to think about that. It hurt every heartbeat to know that Emma was gone, "She's past the borders."

"We'll leave the town then."

"We can't leave the town," he snapped, "Don't be daft."

Mary Margaret blinked and automatically accepted it. They always did when he told them they couldn't leave. Rumpelstiltskin had hoped that the mother side of her would insist on going after Emma anyway. Even though it wouldn't work, he just wanted to be reminded that Snow was still in there somewhere.

Mary Margaret looked as if she wanted to cry and she frantically wiped her eyes, "Graham will send word ahead…he'll get the police to keep an eye out for her…they'll bring her back and you all can talk-"

"They won't find Emma if she doesn't want them to find her," he whispered. Jefferson had taught her to hide in the woods. She was an expert at hiding since she was nine

"She'll find out that the world is far harder than what she thought and she'll clear her head and she'll remember that you love her," Mary Margaret said with an oblivious innocent smile that reminded him of Charming, "She'll come back."

"No, she won't," he shook his head. When Emma was this angry. She had nothing here to return to. What? Watch everyone around her stay the same while she aged and watch the days pass by like a timer on a bomb? She didn't even know what he was going to ask her to do and if he had told her that she was to fight a dragon, then she would've ran faster.

Oh, now that thing he was going to tell her. He was just going to wait till she'd been out of school first before she started training for that.

"Emma will forgive you, she'll return," Mary promised him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"No she won't," he repeated, "They never do."

Mary looked confused and before he had to explain, he grabbed his cane and stood. He didn't want to deal with anymore of her questions, if something should ever happen to Emma to where the curse would get broken; he knew he'd be answering enough of them when Snow White had a blade at his throat.

He shut the door behind him and took a few minutes to gather his thoughts together.

If he had left immediately, he wouldn't have heard Mary's sobs on the other side of the door.

And Emma's mother, even though she didn't know it, the sound of Emma's mother weeping cut him deeper than he was willing to admit.

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His next stop was to Jefferson's home on the hill. He didn't want to, in fact he'd rather just go home and curl up and wait for someone to tell him that Emma had been found. But then he remembered that the house would be lonely and empty without the daughter that he chose to drive away and that was the only thing that kept him from going.

Jefferson could tell him what happened.

He didn't bother to knock on the door, he just opened it. Jefferson allowed Emma to walk into the house like she owned it since she was ten. He imagined that furthered her infatuation with him.

Besides, the only reason that Jefferson hadn't paid him rent was because he trained his daughter. This was all Gold's land anyway.

He found Jefferson sitting in a room full of hats. Jefferson was facing him but he hadn't noticed him yet. He was too busy trying to create another hat that Rumpelstiltskin knew that he would be wasting his time with.

Then he knew Emma was gone. Rumpelstiltskin didn't expect any different.

Rumpelstiltskin opened his mouth to say something and Jefferson tensed and looked up. Rumpelstiltskin stopped when he saw the cuts and scrapes and…a blackening eye on the once perfect face that his daughter fantasized so much about.

And he knew.

"You," he snarled and his hands closed on a pair of scissors nearby. Jefferson jumped up and began backing away, "You attacked my daughter."

"I had to show her that things weren't as she believed."

"She's gone because of you."

"She's gone because of all the people in this town, you couldn't trust your own daughter," Jefferson said defensively, "Is there even enough humanity in you to understand just how terrified she was of what could happen to her?"

Rumpelstiltskin lunged. It took Jefferson off guard and that was how he got the larger man shoved against the wall with scissors pointed at his jugular. Rumpelstiltskin shoved his own guilt to the back of his mind for now; it was Jefferson's fault that Emma was gone. Not his. This younger man had gained his trust and he had foolishly given it and like everyone else he had been stupid enough to trust, he had been betrayed.

Well, he was going to make sure that didn't happen again.

"I saved her life," Jefferson told him when he dug the blade in Jefferson's throat, ready to kill him.

"From what? You put her life in danger; I can't protect her out there."

"And Regina can't touch her out there either," Jefferson snapped, "She approached me; she came here because she had guessed that I was helping Emma. Do you realize what that could mean for Emma? What it could mean for Grace?"

"So you sacrificed my daughter for yours."

"I did this FOR Emma."

Rumpelstiltskin looked at his bruised face and saw hurt in the man's eyes. HE didn't know if it was emotional or physical and he honestly didn't know which one he hoped it was.

But he had attacked Emma; Rumpelstiltskin should kill him just for that.

Emma wouldn't want him to kill Jefferson. If he did then Emma was surely never forgive him for it. Although, she might considering he'd attacked her.

"She'll come back," Jefferson reminded him, "She has to."

"She won't," Rumpelstiltskin said, "We hurt her with this."

"I know that you're hurting right now in that little black heart of yours," Jefferson snapped, "But you know that her breaking the curse when she's 28 will happen. She'll have to be here for that."

"And for all you know she could die out there when she turns 28 and I'll never see her again," Rumpelstiltskin knew he was showing weakness by allowing his voice to break again, but he didn't care right now.

"That won't happen."

"Don't be so sure, dearie," he said angrily, "Life has come to enjoy giving me disappointments like that."

He reluctantly released him and slammed the scissors down into the table.

"Regina was getting desperate," Jefferson said and then tried to say with resolve, "I did the right thing."

"We'll see dearie," Rumpelstiltskin said and limped out the door angrily, "But if she's not home by the time she's 28 then I'm coming for you. You won't like the consequences."


	40. Chapter 40

_**A/N: **_**Italics are flashbacks**

_It was with great reluctance that Rumpelstiltskin attended these droning council meetings, especially with a fidgety two year old in tow. He supposed that he could make someone watch her for him but he wouldn't be able to sit at the end of the row in the back so that he could escape fastest AND be able to take out Emma when she misbehaved. _

_ And she was extra antsy today. He'd gotten her a new dress that was the same colors as the suit he wore. Emma noticed immediately with unabashed glee and he'd hoped that she would wear down when he got to the meeting but having people around her just seemed to excite her more. _

_ The meeting started and he pulled his daughter in his lap. He'd also bought her a Rubik's cube. The bloody thing frustrated him for hours and so he was hoping it'd entertain his daughter with all the colors and turning it…_

_ They only got to read the minutes of the last meeting before Emma dropped the cube in his lap in boredom and tried to squirm away from him. He let her down but when she tried to run into the aisle, he used his cane to block her path, "No, Emma." _

_ She gave him a look that told him that he'd be dealing with a strong willed child for the next 16 years and when she tried to crawl over the cane, he grabbed her and placed her firmly in his lap. Emma was content for a few minutes and he relaxed. Emma took that opportunity to slip out of his grip and run to Mary Margaret, who was at the end, two rows down from him, _

_ "Emma!" he whispered harshly and there were people looking at them. Even Regina stopped to glare, "Emma!" _

_ "MAY!" Emma squealed _

_ She couldn't say 'Mary' yet. _

_ Mary jumped, probably bored out of her mind too and quickly pulled Emma to her side while Regina droned on. Mary gave Emma a tender smile and brushed some hair back over her shoulder. Emma bounced up and down excitedly and said in the loudest voice possible, "MY NEW DRESS!" _

_ Everyone 'aww'd' and giggled and Regina stopped again as Mary Margaret laughed and told her it was very nice. _

_ "Mr. Gold!" Regina snapped, "Can't you control your daughter?!"  
_

_ Rumpelstiltskin didn't like Regina's attention on Emma. Without a word, he stood and grabbed his daughter's wrist when she tried to climb up into Mary's lap. At first he was going to pull her away but when he saw how that would cause a bigger scene, he looked at Mary, "Do you mind?" _

_ "Of course not," Mary Margaret smiled and he let her go and returned to his seat. _

_ The meeting continued but Emma was the only one allowed to fall asleep. Mary Margaret was a natural. She kept Emma's head on her shoulder and rubbed her back gently to get Emma to drift off. He was able to do it but not as well as Mary could. _

_ When Regina's back was turned, Rumpelstiltskin limped to Mary's side and gently took his daughter back. Mary smiled radiantly at him and the girl. She thought that it was a special little friendship that she shared with him and Rumpel wasn't sure if that were true or not. The Mr. Gold in him found her attractive enough. He was certainly aware that Regina had planned to put them together if Rumpelstiltskin hadn't interfered in his own future, thus saving him, Snow White, and Charming a LOT of heartache in the next few years. _

_ Emma shifted and buried her face in his shoulder. He sat back down and rubbed her back soothingly to keep her still. _

_ And only loud enough for her to hear it, he hummed her a quiet lullaby._

The first week passed and the pain that beat in Rumpelstiltskin's chest was so heavy that it hurt just to breathe. It kept him up at night and haunted his waking hours. He wanted to tell himself that it would fade in time.

He knew from experience that was a lie. It was denial and when he moved on to anger, it would hurt worse. Sometimes he thought that he was already there.

It was Jefferson's fault for pushing her through the border. Why had he done that? Because of Regina, so it was her fault too. Rumpelstiltskin hadn't done anything wrong by not telling her she could cross, she had never wanted to be the savior and if she knew the truth then she would have left as soon as she could anyway. She'd always had a habit of running away when she was scared. Jefferson had stopped her from running away to Mary Margaret's house when she was seven and she knew the truth.

But look at the example she had.

No, he pushed that to the thought of his mind. IT wasn't his fault. He'd done nothing that any protective parent in his situation wouldn't do. Emma would understand and she would return once she saw how the world really worked.

And he closed his mind to the pain and went about his day.

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_There were times when two year old Emma got bored and wanted to wonder away, and there were other times when she stuck by her father's side like glue when he was limping down the street. IT was usually the bad days for his leg and Emma sensed that it was easier for him if she stayed._

_ If he didn't know any better, he could swear that she was watching people as they passed, almost like she was guarding him in case they tried to hurt him or do something that might jostle him. _

_ He gave her a small smile and matched his one stride to her three. Sometimes she chatted with him but it was in her own little choice of words that he could sometimes not understand. _

_As long as she was happy though…he was far more content with life when she was smiling and had no cares in the world_

_ She would grow up but he would enjoy these moments now. He would remember them when she was older and had far more on his shoulders. _

_ Emma kept a watchful eye on everything going on around her like it was something new to be discovered. Something caught her attention and her gasp took him out of his thoughts. _

_ She leaned away from him and pointed at what she was looking at excitedly, "DOGGIE!" _

_ He felt himself shrivel a little inside when he saw that it was Archie and his Dalmatian Pongo. What sort of name was that anyway? Oh, and the therapist looked like he wanted to talk. HE was probably worried that Mr. Gold was putting off on facing his past problems by focusing on his two year old daughter. _

_ And then the therapist would try to ask him to come by but not so blunt as to where Rumpelstiltskin would take offense. And Rumpelstiltskin would refuse. He knew that the doctor just wanted to help but there was no help for a being like him. Rumpelstiltskin also saw no point in paying for 'help' when he couldn't even tell the truth without looking insane and having Emma taken away from him. _

_ But Emma was already trying to pull out of his grip so he allowed her to take him over to where the therapist was happily waving. _

_ "Hi Mr. Gold," Archie greeted and gave a little tip of his hat to Emma, "Hello Emma." _

_ Emma hardly paid attention to him and Rumpelstiltskin nudged her with his foot. Emma still hardly paid attention; she was too busy smacking her open palm against the dog's head in her childish attempt to show him affection. _

_ "Emma, don't-," Rumpelstiltskin held up a hand to stop her and Emma looked up, "Be gentle, now." _

_ She looked at the dog and game him far less painful strokes on his head. _

_ "She's growing quick," the therapist said, "I remember her when she was just a baby." _

_ "As do I,' Rumpelstiltskin said politely. Most parents were happy to remember their children at that age and freeze them in time there but not him. He was more than happy to live the 2am feedings and spit up era behind. He had to buy almost all new suits, "It seems like sometimes I'm stuck in time and here she is growing up."  
_

_ Rumpelstiltskin smiled at his own joke, Archie looked confused but probably brushed it off as just one of his speculations of Mr. Gold's quirks. _

_ Rumpelstiltskin looked back down awkwardly at his daughter and watched as Pongo gave her a rather large lick to the face. Rumpelstiltskin tensed when he saw Emma fall backwards. _

_ "I am SO sorry that he did th-."  
_

_ "Don't react," Rumpelstiltskin said quickly, "She won't know that she's supposed to cry unless you react." _

_ Emma's lips quivered and she looked at the dog. Rumpelstiltskin worried if he was going to have an outburst. _

_ Instead she gave an excited happy squeal and wrapped her arms tightly around the dog's neck in an embrace. Rumpelstiltskin could sympathize with the dog's frantic look. He'd been on the receiving end of several of those hugs. _

_ "Emma," Rumpelstiltskin tried not to scold too harshly because it was rather…sweet, "Not too tight, you'll choke him." _

_ He took her hand and gently pulled her away. Emma looked back at the dog and then looked at him, "I want one." _

_ He scoffed, "No Emma, I refuse to get up in the early hours of the morning to walk a dog that you'll eventually get bored of." _

_ She pouted, but he planned to stay firm on this. He had a house full of priceless objects and they would NOT be there for a dog's territory marker. _

_ Emma started to cry and he ignored her. He'd learned a long time ago that it was best not to react. If he did, she'd stop. _

_ By the time they were on the third block to the shop, Emma had stopped crying. Everything was forgotten about the minute she passed the ice cream shop. _

_ Perhaps if she behaved then later he would get her a cone…_

_ …but only because he wanted one himself. _

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The first week turned into the first month.

Graham and found nothing and Emma still hadn't returned.

The only comfort that Rumpelstiltskin had gotten was the fact that as long as the curse wasn't broken, then Emma was alive. It was a small comfort, but one that he thought of constantly. She could be hurt or extremely depressed but she was alive. And that's what pulled him through the day.

He dreamed about Emma and that blasted dog one night…in perfect detail. He usually didn't dream, but when he did, it was about his children. Perhaps that was his curse. He wasn't sure. Perhaps his curse was that everyone left him.

And then it hit him. He had thought about it several times before but it didn't really sink in until he was lying in the dark in his bed; haunted with memories of his young daughter in her childhood. Ever since Emma left he'd had flashes like this.

Jefferson had his part to play but Emma left because of him. She left because she'd been wrong all those years. He was a monster and he didn't have the humanity to treat her like she needed to be treated to make them a family.

He wouldn't let her turn him human. He knew Emma didn't want to be the savior, and he'd always brushed off her pleas for them to find a way to end that destiny. Even if it were possible, he'd always looked at it as him choosing between his daughter and the son that he'd sacrificed and manipulated everything for. He'd comforted himself by telling himself that the damage done to Emma was minimal at best. She didn't have her real parents but she had him. And he loved her like she was his own. She'd get to go back home eventually after he found Bae. She'd still have her birthright and her family was stuck at an age in their life when they could easily have another baby. Emma wasn't eve theirs anymore, Snow had given that up when she agreed to his terms.

But what good could a monster love when one's parents were Snow White and Prince Charming who would've loved her because of who she was? Not who he wanted her to be?

The guilt and anger at himself crushed his chest and he turned over and…really for the first time…had an actual breakdown over his daughter leaving.

He begged her into his pillow to return home, he told her he was sorry and that he loved her. He knew that she wouldn't hear him of course, but it just felt like it eased some of the pain of what he'd realized he'd done to Emma by almost succeeding in forcing her to do something she never wanted in the first place.

He barely got out of bed for three days after that. He hardly moved. He was afraid that if he did then the guilt would just become heavier as he realized that he had denied her the basic freedoms that no parent should ever deny their child.

But on the fourth day, he pulled himself out of bed, he bathed and shaved. He barely glanced at Emma's pictures that he'd practically decorated the house with…ignored her trophies that her team had earned in their sports she'd participated in.

Jefferson had been right. Emma would come here by the time she was 28. She would eventually return and he would tell her everything she wanted and needed to hear and she would understand how much he regretted what he did.

She would understand, she always did.

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_It was always an unspoken rule in the house that Rumpelstiltskin sat in the large brown leather chair by the couch. Emma didn't sit in it, she perched on the arm of the chair when she was too heavy to sit in his lap and at the precious age of five, her bony little backside was starting to numb his good leg. _

_ So she made up for it by leaning on him. Normally she had her place on the recliner because she could curl up and go to sleep if she wished but not today. _

_ They were learning to read in school. Most the children were frozen in the process of learning but he had been teaching Emma since she was two. When he was young, he could barely read things other than words that he'd need to know growing up in a poor village. It'd taken most of his time as the dark one to teach himself to read properly. There wasn't a school when he was a child. Bae had learned to read from Morraine's parents because her mother was the village teacher. _

_ But this world relied on reading far more than the enchanted forest 300 years ago, so teaching Emma was a priority. _

_ Her teacher was impressed with her progress, which in turn made him proud of both her and his decision to teach her early._

_ She'd given Emma a book that was second grade material even though Emma was in kindergarten. One wouldn't know that she was only five as she pointed to each word and said most of them flawlessly. Her pronunciation needed work and she was horribly confused when she realized that not all of them could be sounded out but she didn't know them. That didn't matter though, He was proud of her. She could read. _

_ Emma finished the little book and looked at him cautiously. Always eager to make herself a blessing in his eyes. _

_ He smiled brightly at his little daughter and kissed her temple, "I think that was the best book anyone's ever read to me." _

_ Emma blushed, "Daddy, you just say that." _

_ Rumpelstiltskin grabbed her sides and pulled her into his lap. Emma squealed as he tickled her; something he would NEVER do with company around. She squirmed out of his lap and picked up her book, "You made me drop it, daddy!" _

_ Did she just honestly scold him? _

_ "Hey," he grabbed her by her shoulders, "I mean it, I'm very proud of you. Do you know how many five year olds in this town are reading at a level that's yours? None. You're going to be very intelligent and everyone's going to be so jealous that they had all their boring children instead of you." _

_ Emma looked genuinely proud of herself and Rumpelstiltskin kissed her forehead affectionately, "Can I go find another book?" _

_ He didn't have to think about it, "Yes."_

The first year passed. Rumpelstiltskin told himself that Emma was safe and alive every day and she would return and that's how he still got about his day.

Most people described him as a lot colder now that Emma was away. Jefferson didn't go anywhere near him (Which Rumpelstiltskin was grateful for) and Mary Margaret only exchanged uncomfortable pleasantries with him even though he'd liked to say they were the closest things to friends that one such as him could have.

Rumpelstiltskin focused more on his power since he didn't have Emma to anchor him down. He knew he was opening himself up for destruction but without anyone to fight for in this town, he just…didn't care.

He raised the rent of everyone that had wronged him. Moe French needed to take frequent loans in order to survive till every rent day. He'd made sure to raise Regina's rent when she was having renovations done on the house. She'd stormed into his office in a temper tantrum, and it was glorious. He'd had to deal with a lot since Emma had run away. Her smirk being one of them. He'd learned to ignore the stares and whispers but Regina's arrogant smile wasn't something he was going to let her have. Especially since it was partly her fault that Regina was so terrified at being the savior.

So he raised it again.

The pure pleasure he got out of tantrums like those were the reason that Mary Margaret began to cut all ties with him.

Emma wouldn't approve of him disappointing her mother.

But Emma wasn't here, was she?

He was growing bitter, he knew it. Well why shouldn't he? He was the one that pushed everyone away. And since he was by himself, he had plenty of times to think about how everyone's life could have been better without his interference.

Not that he would stop though. If Emma accepted her role as savior then there was no turning back. Well, not that there was some turning back before…but now he swore he had Emma's wellbeing to think about. If he had her support and her forgiveness…he would press on in his search.

If he didn't…then he wasn't sure what he'd do. He just hoped Emma was ready to become the savior by the time she was 28.

While He didn't have Bae but he could get Emma back. He didn't want to lose both of them.

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The end of the second year came and Rumpelstiltskin numbed himself to everything around him. His only focus was finding Emma now. He had three private detectives that he TRUSTED weren't attempting to bleed him dry. He'd had them all run background searches on each other before he sent them after his daughter and he had…hope that they'd be able to track down his daughter.

But they weren't and he was beginning to worry that he was going to have to up the rent on the people he tolerated soon if they didn't find her by the end of the next year.

His answering machine was on when he came home at the end of a day in September. It was starting to cool and his whole body felt it.

Why couldn't he have turned himself into a healthy 20 year old man before the curse hit?

Oh right, because Zoso's deception had always turned him against taking a different appearance and if people dealt with him then they were going to look at his true face. If they were still stupid enough to deal then, then that was their own fault.

He was almost obliged to let the machine continue to pick it up but then he remembered it might be some information about Emma. They hadn't found her yet. He had demanded they spread out their search.

He picked up the phone without bothering to check the Caller ID, "Yes?"

Rumpelstiltskin felt his heart stop when he heard the broken voice on the other end.

"Emma?"


	41. Chapter 41

The final school bell had rang five minutes ago and Mary Margaret was still seeing children off when Mr. Gold came in. Mary Margaret tensed when she saw him. The last time that he'd come in there was a year ago to collect on some rent and he'd glared the other children out of the room.

But he didn't glare at them today; in fact his focus was completely on her. He'd been crying, she could see that his eyes were puffy.

Mary Margaret wasn't sure she'd seen him cry all that much before…in fact she couldn't remember him EVER crying in front of her.

Mary Margaret suspected the worst and she felt the blood drain from her face, "What is it? Is it Emma?"

"It's Emma," he confirmed, "She just called."

Mary Margaret looked over his shoulder to see that the children had cleared out and immediately.

They would need privacy. She went to close the door.

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**20 Minutes Ago**

Everything froze for Rumpelstiltskin when he heard his daughter's voice for the first time in almost two years. He felt his heart both race and drop and he felt emotion swell in his chest and in his throat and everything he wanted to tell her was suddenly a blank and he couldn't remember…

"Are you alright?" he asked and tried to keep a sob from his throat.

"I'm alright," she promised him but he could hear something in her voice…something was wrong; "I'm not hurt."

"Where are you?" he demanded and then softened, "I've been looking- Emma, Emma I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I swear I won't force you to be anything that you don't want to be. I've already lost Bae and I don't want to lose you too. Please come home…Emma, we can work this out. Let me make this up to you. Just tell me what you want"

He heard her start to cry on the phone and he realized that he was crying as well, "Dad, we don't have much time here."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I'm…I've landed in some trouble…they don't let us talk for very long here…"

He felt the dread seeping in, "Where are you?"

She started crying harder, "Dad, I messed up. I've messed up so bad. You raised me better than this…I know but the money ran out and I was so scared to come home-."

"Emma," he whispered.

"I'm so sorry, dad. I was in possession of some stolen goods when a cop found me."

"How long?" he asked, he knew precisely where she was…not the specifics, but he imagined he could find out now that he had a number.

"I got eleven months. I'll be out in four."

He felt himself go numb; he thought that he taught her better than this, "Emma-."

"It's minimum security," she told him, "So it's not like I'm in here with murderers or anything…and the judge said my records will be sealed since I was a juvenile…."

Rumpelstiltskin felt angry with her, was being with him so preferable to having to steal or hold onto stolen goods to survive? And the fact that she WAS stealing…he was so disappointed in her decisions…it was probably hypocritical but he didn't care. He was her father; he figured he was entitled to feel that way when she made poor and very stupid decisions.

She was trying to build it up to where it wouldn't be so bad...which meant that she was buttering him up because she was about to break something else, "Is there something more you want to tell me?"

There was silence for a few seconds on the phone, "Dad, I'm pregnant."

All the air was driven from his lungs. A thousand things ran through his mind. He wanted to tell her that he was angry. He wanted to scream that he HAD taught her better than giving it to the first guy to come along, especially at THIS age because every case he'd seen in the enchanted realms never ended well. He wanted to demand the name of the father but Emma was crying too hard on the phone to probably form proper sentences. And he really didn't think she'd give him the name anyway, so he spared some time since they were running out.

Then he quickly did the math in his head. If she got eleven months…and babies were typically born in nine…

"You want me to take care of him," He said far too bluntly.

"I don't want him out in this world," she said.

"Aren't I the bigger monster, dear?" he asked, "I'm surprised you want to keep your baby anywhere near me. I would've thought that you would've picked adoption rather than give it to me and allow me leverage."

"I thought about giving him up," she said and that hurt him far more than he was willing to admit, "But I've heard more horror stories here than I've heard good things about the system and since I was almost in it…I want the baby with me."

She didn't say that maybe the child wouldn't grow up to betray her like everyone else seemed to have, but he knew her thinking and he knew that it was going through her mind right now.

He was calculating a way to get her back and the words were out of his mouth before he could think, "If I agree to take care of him, would you come home to stay?"

"Would you use my baby as leverage to get what you want?"

He flinched at the anger in her voice. He wasn't the imp trying to manipulate her anymore. He was the father that desperately wanted his daughter safe.

"No," he told her honestly, "The choice is yours."

"You'd still want me back?" She sounded shocked at that.

More than anything. He could hear how broken she was and while he was furious at all the insanely reckless and stupid things that she had done; she had seen this world that she abandoned him for and she didn't like it. She wanted to come home and he was not going to deny her that, "Yes, I want you back home."

The tears came again and he heard Emma sobbing on the phone, "I'll get the social worker to get started on getting everything set up."

"Alright," he said and closed his eyes. He knew they would probably fight when she got home, they'd have a long way to go be for they could even have anything near the same relationship they had before she left. But he said it anyway, "I love you Emma."

And he heard Emma say something that he'd been waiting two years to hear again.

"I love you too, dad."

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**Present Time. **

"Emma's coming home," He said and it felt like such a relief to say that out loud now that he was certain he wasn't dreaming, "Emma's coming home."

Mary Margaret smiled happily and took his hand. He hadn't told her everything that happened in the conversation. She wouldn't understand everything that they had talked about, "She's going to have a baby."

Rumpelstiltskin wasn't completely sure how he felt about that. While being a grandfather that would be included in his grandchild's life just made him so happy, Emma was still only eighteen. Her being a mother this young was never something he'd wanted in any future she had. Did she even understand the sacrifices and devotion that being a parent required?

He wanted her home. He wanted her forgiveness so bad that it hurt, but even he could see the danger that she was putting herself and that baby in by returning home. But where else could she go?

"I'm going to be a grandfather," he whispered.

Mary Margaret shifted, "No matter what you feel about Emma's actions and decisions, you have to remember that you can't project that onto the baby."

As if he would even CONSIDER doing that to an innocent child.

No, he wasn't going to take out his anger on Emma (Even though the decision was hers) or the baby.

But he was certainly going to find and eviscerate the boy that did this to her.


	42. Chapter 42

Rumpelstiltskin didn't sleep that night and he barely slept in the nights afterwards.

Emma was coming home. He repeated that throughout the day to get by just like he always did but now it was more fervent. It meant something. There was so much to do…he had a phone conference with the social worker and told her that due to his ailing health and inability to walk during the winter due to his near crippling injury, they would have to bring the baby _here. _She scoffed and argued but he finally talked her into it. It bothered Rumpelstiltskin greatly that of all the people to hold his grandbaby for the first time, he would most likely not be in the first 7-10, but he would deal with it. He didn't know how many people had handled Emma when she was a baby and he wasn't entirely sure how much care they'd taken with her either.

No, he wouldn't think about things that he was in no way to control. He focused on the things he could control. They talked as often as they could now, and with permission from his daughter He took down everything in Emma's room and had it renovated from a sixteen year old's sanctuary to the room of a woman and mother. He had a doorway put into the wall that connected to the nursery like his room did. When she got home she was taking full responsibility for the baby when she wasn't studying for her G.E.D. She wasn't going to dump it off on him.

And then he had the nursery repainted. He wasn't sure what the gender was going to be, Emma wasn't entirely sure either so he chose a happy sunny yellow. It matched the two for one bassinet deal that he got and he could keep one of the bassinets downstairs in the kitchen and the color would go splendid.

But doubts crept in while he tried to focus on the workers around him. Emma had gotten eleven months and she had four left of her sentence. That meant that for seven months she'd been swelling up like a great balloon and the only reason she'd called him was because no one was there to take care of her baby.

Or maybe, he told himself, she had time to think and realized how over her head she'd gotten in and wanted to reunite with him when she realized just how much she left behind.

And if getting ready for Emma's return wasn't taking enough of his time, he also had his investigators dig into her past now that they had a location.

The money in her account hadn't run out quickly because she had wasted it all. She had spent some of it to change her name. Emma Swan; what sort of a name was that? Was it supposed to be symbolic of her believing she was somehow an ugly duckling?

He also didn't want to admit it to himself but it gutted him that she'd kept the name her mother had given her and rejected his.

He even saw a photo of the man that she had apparently stolen the watches for. He had quite a little rap sheet going on. Petty things mostly, but other than this criminal record, he couldn't find anything else about him. He didn't even have a good picture from the surveillance photo. So it's not like he could put out a hit (It was tempting anyway)

Jefferson, Tommy, this…Neal Cassidy, leave it to Emma to make continued poor choice in men and now look at her, she was seven months pregnant with the baby of the man that abandoned her.

No, he wasn't going to think about that. He would just become angry and he didn't want to fight with Emma on her first couple of days back. He knew that because of their personalities that it would be inevitable that they have a big fight. Emma seemed to know it too and that's why they only talked about small things whenever she was allowed to contact him. He told her that her mother was fine, he told her that Jefferson was fine and how he'd annoyed Regina that week…it kept her up to date on what was happening at home and it kept them from having to talk about _it. _

The townspeople knew that she was coming home. The problem with renovations and painting was that there were people in the house. They caught on when they redid her room and they definitely caught on when they repainted the nursery. IT didn't take the first week for the rumor to be out that Emma was returning and she was carrying a bundle of joy with her. Rumpelstiltskin didn't want the news getting out but it had. Regina stayed in the shadows thankfully; he didn't have to deal with her condescending remarks. Jefferson stayed on the hill and he was more than grateful for that. Emma would more than likely seek him out when she returned but that didn't mean that Rumpelstiltskin wanted to deal with him.

Then during a lunch in which he tried to reconnect with Mary Margaret for Emma's sake, she brought up the fact that several townspeople wanted to throw her a party to welcome her home. Rumpelstiltskin wanted to refuse because he didn't want her to be…rewarded for what she did. He knew that she was probably going to want to reintegrate herself in as quietly as possible and adjust to being a mother.

But he also knew that this could be good; it would remind Emma that these people cared about her and there was a vicious part of him that knew that it would hurt her to know that she nearly willingly left all these people, including her own mother, behind in an attempt to get away from him.

However, he shoved that last reason to the back of his mind. He agreed if the party was at Mary Margaret's house.

He would not attend though, going felt like rewarding her and he knew that with him there no one would enjoy themselves.

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A month crawled by. The repairs to the house were done. Everything was baby proofed and waiting for Emma's return.

Now that they had an address, Mary Margaret took great happiness in writing letters to Emma. Things were sent and they arrived constantly. Mary Margaret sent her little care packages first class. Rumpelstiltskin didn't ask her to read the letters; he didn't want to know what was being said between them. He allowed them their privacy even though Mary Margaret offered to read some of them. It was the least he could do for Mary Margaret.

Mary Margaret would be one of the few that didn't judge her for the decisions she had made. Rumpelstiltskin wasn't so nice as that; so he allowed Emma her privacy with her mother because while Mary Margaret wasn't a complete ally in every sense of the term like he was…she was Emma's support. And support was what Emma needed now.

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At the end of the first month, he was awakened so early in the morning by the phone ringing that the alarm hadn't awakened him yet.

By the second week of the second month, he was standing on the porch next to Mary Margaret. It was only fitting that she be with him to see his grandchild.

His grandson…that felt so strange in his mind to say. He never thought he would be a grandfather…and he certainly never thought that Emma would give birth to one. Well, he had never wanted to think about it. He was happy to remember her as the child that used to sit on his knee at the wheel. Not as a woman capable of…giving him grandchildren.

Not that he didn't want the boy; he just wished that she'd gone at it in a completely different way.

Emma hadn't told him about the father. When he'd told Mary Margaret that she hadn't, Mary Margaret had confessed that she had remained quiet on the subject in the letters as well.

The boy was awake when the social worker walked up to him with the baby. He thought it would be ironic if it was the same woman that gave him Emma but he didn't remember her face. He didn't remember anything about that day other than holding Emma and her acceptance of him. He doubted today would be any different.

The boy had gray eyes and a full head of brown hair and stared up at Rumpelstiltskin with a full unblinking stare.

He was so tiny…

"Mr. Gold," the social worker said and then sort of gave a shake of her head, "This is…David Rumpelstiltskin Gold. David, this is your grandfather."

Mary Margaret looked up sharply at the middle name and then gave him a confused look, "Why on Earth-."

Rumpelstiltskin felt his heart skip a beat. Even after…everything that he'd done to her and the fear he'd forced her in, she'd named her son after him.

Well, her biological father's shepherd name and then his, but that was common sense. No kid in this world that didn't want to get beaten on the playground was named Rumpelstiltskin.

He felt his breathing constrict. Without a word, he handed the baby to Mary Margaret and struggled to find his voice, "Just allow me a minute."

He slipped back into his house and put his hands over his eyes.

Another life that depended on him. Why was he entrusted with yet another when he screwed up the other two he had beyond repair?

And why did Emma trust him enough to name her child after him when he'd done nothing but turn her into his pawn?

Because she loved him.

He didn't deserve it. No one should ever love him because of what he did. Emma had told him that she loved him countless times but he'd brushed it off. It was a child's fantasy, one that she couldn't even begin to understand until she knew what he did. She wouldn't love him if she knew…

Now it was all over, She knew he lied to her, she knew that he tried to manipulate and control her to get her to do what he wanted.

Was this her way of telling him that she forgave him? Was this her attempt to thank him and tell him she wanted to renew their relationship? Her returning home only did so much if it meant that their relationship was never the same. And she didn't have any reason to want to rebuild the relationship.

The door opened and Mary Margaret poked her head in, "Mr. Gold? They said there are some things you still need to sign."

He drew in his breath, "I'll be there in a minute."

She managed a small nod and shut the door.

He would be a better man; he could be if he had a reason to. For Emma, for little David, for Bae, for Belle's memory and what she died for…it was high time.

He wiped any remaining tears from his eyes and walked back to the front door.

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Little David was nothing like Emma was when she was in his care that first day. She was still young but she looked around her with an almost curious glee when she was awake. David looked around with a slightly curious gaze that seemed to study everything around him. He was a serious baby; Rumpelstiltskin supposed that he could deal with that, like grandfather, like grandson.

Thanks the gods he looked like his mother and grandmother.

_"Did he make it alright_?" Emma asked him that evening when she was allowed phone time.

"Yes," he told her and rubbed the sleeping baby's back, "He's safe. He's content…he's just waiting for his mother's return."

A few seconds of silence passed on the phone, "_Thank you…for watching him._"

"You realize that Regina's going to go after him now if she gets the opportunity?"

_"Yes,_" she whispered.

"What do you plan to do about it?"

_"What I have to,"_ she replied and he heard the anger and determination in her voice, "_To protect my son."_

Oh gods, while a part of him reveled in it, another part of him didn't want her to be like him. But what did he expect when she had him for an example?

"Emma-," he stopped and looked for the words to say. He didn't want this to sound like a bribe to get her to make sure she returned and stayed, "When you come home…I'll tell you why I did this. I'll tell you why I created the curse."

A few seconds of silence passed again, "_Do you promise?_"

"Yes," he told her, and he meant it. He ignored the voice in the back of his mind that said she'd hate him and she'd take the baby and leave if she knew what he was capable of. This was her battle too. He'd forced her on the frontlines and in Regina's targets and now there was a baby in the mix. Emma needed to know what she was getting into. She needed to know everything and that was far more than what that little book told her.

_"No loopholes? No take backs? When I ask, you'll tell me?"_

He grabbed the baby's hand and watched as it closed around his finger. He better enjoy it because Emma might never allow him near her son again, "If it means holding onto you then I'll tell you everything."

**A/N: So, it's going to be hard not typing "Henry" all the time. **


	43. Chapter 43

Little David was a far less complicated baby than Emma was; but in some ways, he was far more complicated as well.

When Emma was a baby, she reveled in having him wrapped around her finger and became defiant sometimes when he didn't answer her every beck and call. Her son on the other hand only cried when he wanted to be fed or changed and he honestly could care less if Rumpelstiltskin hugged him or not. There was only one way that Rumpelstiltskin usually got him to smile and that was when he stared up at his mother's unicorn mobile while Rumpelstiltskin sang him a lullaby.

When Mary Margaret held him, it was a different story. The baby lit up like a tree at Christmas when she made silly faces and talked in ridiculous voices.

But that didn't mean that he and his grandson didn't get along. They got along splendidly well. He was just a serious baby. He didn't want to be entertained, he wanted to be IMPRESSED. Rumpelstiltskin wasn't sure what he would've done if he got a male version of Emma to take care of for the next couple of months.

He was even going to be smart; the child's head was huge.

There was no word on Regina's part thankfully. He hoped that if Jefferson found out anything, he would've sent word to protect Emma's son; the only reason she was returning.

No, Regina was off strategizing. She was circling her prey and thinking of a plan in which she could hurt them. It would be too much to wish and hope that Regina would just leave them all alone but she was a vindictive woman and if it meant hurting the baby to hurt Emma then Rumpelstiltskin had no doubt that she would resort to that.

Or maybe she was waiting until Emma came home.

He held the baby to his chest and rubbed the boy's back as he thought about what to do. They still had Graham's heart if they wanted to use it. Regina hadn't gone near it. She was too terrified of being too close to the border. Jefferson said once that it was because he'd tried to push her over but Rumpelstiltskin wasn't sure how much of that he could trust. The man WAS quite mad and Regina would've made sure he regretted it if it were true. However, she did take everything from him, what more could she possibly do?

He moved and David fussed. Rumpelstiltskin was going to have a terrible time of separating the boy from his real grandfather whenever Charming did wake up.

_If _he did.

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Emma was coming home tomorrow.

She'd been released two days previous, she told him the last time they talked on the phone that she was going to drive nonstop. He put a stop to that idea; he wired money into her account so that she could stop at a decent hotel and sleep.

There was still so much to do. David watched him from his bassinet with a half curious half content expression as Rumpelstiltskin busied himself in putting away things that wouldn't fit in his shop. Most of it went in the basement or attic. If he was going to let his daughter come home then the least that he could do was make it LOOK like a home and not a storage closet.

"Your mother may seem a little defiant at first," Rumpelstiltskin told his grandson. He found himself talking to the boy more and more since he'd arrived. Maybe it was because Rumpelstiltskin was desperately lonely. Maybe since David was so serious, it made him quite the good listener, "But that's just her wall. She'll lower it when she warms up to you, which…considering you're her son should be automatic. At least I'm hoping. If she turns into what my wife was then I'm getting full custody of you…I don't think you'll have to worry about that though. Your mother loves you and if she didn't then she wouldn't even bother coming home to get you. She'd leave you with me and stay out _there." _

In a world where she didn't belong. Where no one loved her.

Rumpelstiltskin swallowed the bitterness. It didn't matter right now. They would talk about it later but for now he could live happily with the fact that Emma was returning.

"If you think that I'm acting insane, you should see your grandmother," he said and kissed the boy's cheek, "She's scrambling all over town trying to get things for Emma's welcoming party. I believe there was a call to the Sheriff's station because she was so rude that she made Mr. Clark cry."

Maybe he'd missed something special when he overrode Regina's command that they be married. If he had rubbed off on her that much (unless it was her mother's instincts) then they could've been the ultimate power couple in Storybrooke.

It was a thought that he dismissed with disgust. Was he so lonely that another man's wife was appealing to him? He disgusted himself sometimes, he didn't need a romantic partner to keep him company, all he wanted and needed were his children.

And grandchild now.

Rumpelstiltskin looked down at him and took his grandson's hand, "You'll be alright; it may take a team effort, but Regina will never lay a finger on you I can promise you that.

At least not while he was alive.

"I promise," he whispered, "That you and your mother will go to sleep at night without fear of what Regina could do to tear us apart."

The boy grabbed his finger and tried to shove it in his mouth. Rumpelstiltskin smiled and gave his grandson another kiss. The boy gave half a smile which was usually more than what he got when the child studied him.

The doorbell rang and he pulled off the apron he was wearing to clean with. No one would ever take him seriously if he answered like that.

He saw a flash of blonde hair and he rushed forward and opened the door.

Emma.

She had been looking behind her when he ripped the door open. She turned startled.

She looked so different. She was thinner than what he remembered, which was odd because she just had a baby two months ago. Physically, she looked the same as she did in all the pictures he had around him but her body was hunched over as if she had the weight of the world on them.

Her eyes…the ones that he'd stared into every day for the first sixteen years of her life were so different. There was no longer any innocence. Just mental and emotional exhaustion, hints of bitterness and the look of someone that had been betrayed by everyone she'd ever cared about.

"Emma…" he breathed.

She wasn't supposed to come home till tomorrow.

Emma lowered her eyes and looked at her father, "I know I'm not supposed to be here till tomorrow but…I made good time."

She drove with barely any sleep, he _knew _it.

That hardly mattered though. He felt his defenses crumble when he saw just how…hurt she looked. He reached out tenderly and brushed his fingertips against the side of her face. He worried that if he touched her then he might set her off. She looked like she was reaching her breaking point, if she hadn't reached it already.

Emma's face crumbled and she lowered her head, "I'm sorry."

Rumpelstiltskin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace. Emma slammed into his chest nearly knocking the wind out of him and returned the embrace.

"I'm sorry too," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

Two years gone that he would never get back. He lost her because he was terrified of losing her. IT hadn't been worth it. It hadn't been worth the trouble.

He pulled her back and wiped a tear from her face, "There will be time for that later though, first I think it's time you had a proper introduction to your son."

Emma managed a small smile and wiped her eyes, "It's past time."

Rumpelstiltskin wrapped an arm around his daughter and rested his head on the top of hers.

Emma was home. His daughter, his beautiful baby daughter was back home.

He walked with her into the house and shut the door behind them.


	44. Chapter 44

There were no words to express how sorry Emma was for what she did. There weren't enough regrets to say how sorry she was to her father and her mother and to her friends for abandoning them like she had.

The first few months, she had been angry. A blind fury had taken ahold of her in which she blamed everyone. Regina for casting the curse, Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin for their parts, her mother for giving her up to a man that her mother feared and mistrusted and her biological father for never seeing it. She felt at the time that she was entitled to some self-pity, in her mind, _everyone _had betrayed her.

But the world was a dark and scary place when there was no one out there that cared for you.

The first month was the hardest. Emma wanted so many times to just pick up the phone and beg for her father to let her come back home. IT was freezing out at night and it'd taken her two weeks to find her first homeless shelter. She had money in her account but didn't want to burn through it.

She regretted that decision almost immediately when she saw the kind of people there and the way they looked at her like she was a slab of meat in the display window.

That was when she nearly went home. Her father would forgive her; there was nothing wrong in running. Cowards lived to fight another day, he had taught her that.

He'd also taught her pride. What was waiting for her there? A father who manipulated her to fit his own agenda; pushing her for a life and future she never asked for? A lot of children had that but most of them had a choice in the end. She didn't. He put down a prophecy that guaranteed as much.

And it's not like she had anything else waiting for her. Jefferson had attacked her and her mother didn't even know her face. She knew it was wrong to abandon them but it wasn't right. IT wasn't right to be forced to watch her mother not know who she was day after day while they put a sword in her hand and told her that an entire world depended on her. She never asked for that! She just wanted to live her life and be left alone and as soon as she found a job then she could do that.

At least until she was 28, but that was in ten years. She could find a way not to return to Storybrooke. She didn't care if all four of her limbs were broken and her father was the only one who agreed to take care of her, she wasn't going back.

She stayed long enough at that homeless shelter to eat and then she was out on the streets again. She wasn't going to risk being in a place like that with the way the men were looking at her. It took two hours of wandering the street before she even felt remotely safe again.

That's when she landed in front of the law office. There were cars still there though it's evening. Expensive ones, she didn't know how but she needed up on the better part of the city and there were all these cars that could easily be replaced if she took one.

She lived for two weeks in that car. It was safer than the homeless shelters and less expensive than hotel. She traded license plates so she wouldn't be detected. She knew a lot about cars, Jefferson loved them and some of his false memories were of a trouble teenager who used to break into them before he settled down. Emma used the skills he taught her. Her father wouldn't have approved and neither would Jefferson; he'd taught her how to break into one as means of a quick getaway.

Two weeks she had that car. She slept in 24 hour superstore parking lots, ate more junk food than she cared to think about while she worked temporary jobs to fund herself. She never stayed in one place. Her dad could find her if she did and if he got word to her then she wasn't entirely sure she'd turn him down for coming home.

She abandoned that car by the middle of the second week and took another one when she got to a rich part of another city and that was when she realized that she was being followed. It wasn't obvious, but the same black car stayed four cars back on the interstate and thee cars back when she got suspicious and took the back roads.

She didn't think that they were from her father. Rumpelstiltskin would've probably had her kidnapped and brought home or something. He hated that she was in this world and if he could bring her back then he would have.

What if it was from Regina? What if they were tracking her?

Emma traded cars more frequently after that. She stayed in large cities where she could get lost easily. That second month, she finally found someone that would change her name.

It drained half her bank account but she felt a bit safer while she moved. All of a sudden, never staying in one place felt like a good idea.

She lived like that for half a year and she began to settle down. Her mother had given her to Rumpelstiltskin because she had no idea what kind of world this was and she couldn't understand it. She gave her to Rumpelstiltskin because she knew that he would keep her safe.

At least that's how Rumpelstiltskin told it and who knew if he was telling the truth. It was a feeling that gutted her, not knowing how much of what she knew were facts and which were things that kept her behaved.

Living outside of Storybrooke, she could understand a bit of why he might've lied to her about the border. She knew his past with his first wife and whatever had happened with his son and with the other woman he used to draw had left him broken. She'd spent 16 years watching him struggle with caring for her and loving her while thinking of himself as an unlikable monster who could never care or love again.

But there was no excuse for creating the curse, manipulating everything to get the curse casted, and then getting his hands on her so that she could be manipulated while her family was torn apart. She couldn't even begin to think he was sorry because she wasn't convinced he wouldn't do it again if he had to.

And her biological father? Well, why was she angry at him for? There was no way that he could've known. He had a pregnant wife and an oncoming curse.

And Jefferson, she wasn't sure. Why did he attack her? And why did he look hurt when he did it? She was his friend! He'd been her confidant like he'd requested and then he attacked her! Why? What purpose did it serve?

Was there anyone out there that wasn't planning to use her to further their stance on the curse?

The first half of a year she spent wondering. The second half of that first year, she'd settled down in a small town and got a job as a waitress. No one bothered her; her ID said she was eighteen and her fake social security number 'confirmed' who she was. She liked the town. It reminded her of home except most people were happy.

And then a black car with a similar license plate started driving by the restaurant very slowly and Emma was on the move again.

A month or so into the second year, she met Neal.

Neal wasn't…everything she wanted in a companion. She wasn't sure what she thought of when she wanted a companion; she liked to think that her future husband would be someone of a mix of Graham's kindness and determination to do the right thing combined with Jefferson's loyalty and uncanny ability to understand her.

But Neal was different than them; she didn't always feel like she had to be on her guard. Graham; because of Regina and Jefferson because he clashed so much with her father. He didn't have an agenda or a goal for her to meet. He didn't have something he wanted for her to do for him that required him protecting her.

They taught her how to survive. Neal with his easy smile and flirting carefree demeanor taught her how to live! Where she had every step of her life planned for her practically, he taught her how life could be unpredictable. There was something thrilling about not knowing where your next meal came from or where you were going to sleep that night. When she was alone it was terrifying but when she was with someone…when she was with him, it was like an adventure.

She thought she loved him. Her father had warned her about falling for the first guy that came along. He had talked to her about waiting until marriage before…well he had blushed at that part because he always felt awkward when talking about sex…but if she felt like she wanted to…he blushed again, it was such an odd sight…to make sure that she dated the guy for a while and she was sure.

Maybe Emma had thought she was sure. Or maybe it was a fit of rebellion, she didn't know anymore. She didn't want to think about it.

But Neal hadn't loved her; he had used her and threw her away when he was done. He used her as means to an end just like everyone else in her life and to make it worse, he'd made it so that she couldn't run as far away from Portland as she could.

She was alone again. Well…not alone…Actions had consequences and she found that out as she sat in her cell looking at the positive pregnancy test.

And while she was trapped in that prison, it gave her time to think.

She wanted to go home.

Her pride got in the way again. Her father would use the baby; Regina would use it, Jefferson…well…who knew what Jefferson would do. She'd have to spend ten more years looking at her mother who didn't know who she was. Could she endure getting manipulated and toyed and emotionally and mentally abused by the chess players of this game while trying to spare her baby from the same torment?

She could always stay out here when she got out. She could still stay away and raise her son.

With what money? It was all gone now and there was no one. She could survive on her own but she couldn't expect herself to put a baby through the same.

She could put him up for adoption.

But look at her luck with adoption.

And then thoughts began to creep in. She wanted to hear her father's voice again. She wanted to see her mother and just…spend time with her again. Like it used to be.

But it wouldn't be like it used to be.

Storybrooke held a lot of danger, but this world posed a far greater threat. At least there, she could keep an eye on Regina…know her moves. What if she was out here and Regina found her and learned she had a baby? What if Regina tracked the baby down while Emma was in jail? Emma couldn't die but the baby might.

Emma may be a pawn but her father did protect her and now that she was alone, she couldn't be protected out here.

At least she'd have her own bed if her father let her back home.

Her pride kept her from calling for several months and she constantly weighed the pros and cons of calling him again. Once Jefferson said that there were no winning choices in some situations and she had to pick the lesser of the two evils.

The safety of her son, like it or not, was with his grandfather.

And during her seventh month, with her feet so swollen that she could hardly walk, she picked up the phone and called him.

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Emma had held her son only once before they'd taken him away to go be with Rumpelstiltskin. The days following were misery for her, as her breast constantly leaked and weighed her down, it hurt to walk and she was emotional.

She'd just given her father a way to get her to come back. They were talking again, about small stuff because they both knew the inevitable storm was coming in which they'd fight and Emma was scared that she'd change her mind.

But no fight came, at least not yet and she went home; the entire way, debating with herself. Maybe she should just stay until she saved her money up and left again, raised her son away from Regina and from this dysfunctional family…away from curses and immortality, and loneliness and deals and chess games and manipulation. Her son didn't deserve to live on the streets outside of Storybrooke and he certainly didn't deserve what Storybrooke had to offer.

But when her father saw her and she saw the way he looked at her and reached out to touch her face…she felt her resolve crumble. No! She was going to stay strong in her stance! If he didn't tell her why…or if he crossed lines that he shouldn't cross again then she was leaving.

But then he held her. Like he always did when she was scared or upset and she felt herself break. She felt him cling to her as tightly as he could and whisper apologies like he had been since they started talking on the phone.

And she knew that she was going to stay

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She held David once before she came here and now that she held him again, she wasn't sure how he'd gotten so big in just two months.

"Easy," her father whispered and then said sharply when the baby was transferred into her, "Don't _drop_ him, now."

"I'm not going to drop him," she said and stared down at his face. He looked like her and her mother, thank God. He opened his eyes and stared at her. Emma felt her throat constrict and she mentally apologized to him for bringing him into this.

"How is he?" she asked.

"He's fine really, he's a quiet child," Rumpelstiltskin sat across from her, "Should make the 2 am feedings easier."

"I can't feed him," she whispered, "Breast milk dried up the second week he was gone. I know…I know…you don't have to tell me; whose fault was that, right?"

"That wasn't what I was going to say. I was going to say that I couldn't feed you like that either and you never complained."

She smiled despite her tears, "It's supposed to be healthier…it's supposed to be a bonding experience."

"You'll have more," he told her. '

"Will those make up for the hundred I've already missed?"

"No," he told her honestly, "But there are a billion more if that's a comfort."

It wasn't but she understood what he was trying to do.

He sighed and folded his hands in front of her, "Are you going to stay?"

She should tell him yes and ease his mind, but she knew that if she did then he might believe her and that meant he wouldn't give her the answers she wanted because no matter how disappointed or angry she was, she wouldn't go anywhere.

"Well it seems like that decision is up to you," she lied. She hated that it came to this, she didn't want to play this game with him of all people, "I believe we made a deal on the phone."

"You want to know everything now?" he asked. He seemed so tired, so astonished that she was going to bring this up just she got home.

"No," she told him, and that was the truth, "I just…I want to rest. I want to sleep for a week and stay in the bath for a month. But I can't, because I have responsibilities. I want to feel safe again and I want to trust you."

"Well I think that runs both ways," he said but looked like her comment stung him, "You haven't handled this with the best of decisions either."

Emma looked down at her son who watched her quietly, "Yeah, I know."

It was an uncomfortable awkward silence. She heard her father draw him his breath, "I will tell you what you want to know. And what you don't want to know as well and in the end you'll make the decision of whether or not you want to stay. I can't force you to do what you don't want to do."

Oh good, he'd learned that. At least he said he did. She supposed that only time would tell on whether or not he was telling the truth.

The boy yawned in her lap and began fussing.

"He'll want to be asleep now," Rumpelstiltskin said.

Emma didn't want to let him go. She felt a surge of motherly protection when he stepped forward to take the baby from her arms. Something in her look or body language must've tipped him off about her attitude because he backed away and motioned toward the bassinet, "Unless you'd like to do it."

She stared at her son the entire time she walked across the room. She would protect him, she would keep him safe, no one would hurt him. If they did then they'd have both her and Rumpelstiltskin to worry about.

And hopefully Regina was smart enough to realize that she couldn't take both of them down when they were pissed at her.

The front door opened and Emma instinctively placed herself between the door and the bassinet. She looked to her father for any sign of alarm but he watched her with no concern on his face.

Her mother came into view, "They gave us the wrong streamers for the party, can you bel-."

Emma felt like she was standing in front of an audience of people instead of just her mother. Mary Margaret dropped the bags she was carrying. A stunned breath escaped her throat.

Emma felt so humiliated for what she'd put her through, "I'm back."

Mary Margaret was across the room before she knew what happened. She barely had enough time to lift her arms and accept the embrace before Mary Margaret was practically attacking her with a hug.

"You came home," she whispered.

Emma realized tears were falling down her cheeks again. She had hurt her mother, who had done nothing to her but sacrifice for what she thought was best and she had willingly hurt her by running off with the hope of never coming home again.

She was a sorry excuse for a child

"Yes," she added a mental _mom _in there but Mary Margaret wouldn't hear it, "I'm home."

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Rumpelstiltskin insisted that Mary Margaret spend the day with them and Emma didn't disagree with him. Her mother eased the tension between both of them and made the awkward silence at least tolerable.

She had dinner with them and left and both instead chose to focus on the baby instead of talking.

It was still awkward when they both went to sleep that night. David woke her up once that night and she prepared the bottle like her father had taught her and put him back down.

She could be a mom. She could be a mom. She could be a mom.

Well how on earth was she going to be a mom when she didn't know what completely selfless love really was? She knew her parents loved her but at least her father didn't love her in that way and her mother wasn't awake to teach her.

She supposed she'd just have to do what her father did and crank it up to another level.

He was already gone when she got up. He left a note saying that it was rent day and he had to work. She supposed that made sense, he had her and a baby living with him now, he was going to need all the money he could get.

She fed David and put him in a small bassinet inside the bathroom so that she could shower. She spent half an hour in there and when she was out, got dressed in one of the outfits left that still fit her…she was going to need to do some shopping soon. There was still some money in her account that her father sent over, she didn't sleep in as many hotels as he would've wished but she wanted to come home.

"Come on David," she whispered to her son and put him in the stroller that she'd lugged down the stairs before bringing him down, "They're going to see that I'm home eventually, might as well give them something to talk about, right?"

Something moved behind a tree and she looked up, her instincts for the past two years kicked in and she felt every muscle tense.

Jefferson stepped out from behind the tree. She could see that his eyes were red and swollen and he watched her with a cautious expression.

She still remembered how terrified she'd been when he attacked her and threw her over the border. How she thought she was honestly going to die. He deserved to be slapped for that…well he deserved a lot more than that because attacking her just to show her she could cross over the border would be unforgivable to some.

But then again, so was running away and landing in over her head.

She walked up to him, "You should've thought things through a lot better than what you did."

His tense gaze softened a bit and he looked truly guilty, "I know."

He was going to have to work to get her to trust him ever again. But seeing him again…the sad way he looked at her, like he was expecting her to just go off on him and remove herself so that he was alone again…she felt the anger drain away.

She chose to embrace him because she knew how it felt to be left alone and betrayed.

The gesture took him back and he let the air leave his lungs. He returned the embrace and they just stood there…for several seconds…maybe even minutes…

David began to fuss.

Emma drew back and stared at her friend for a few seconds and turned for her son. One day he would tell her why he did what he did, but not today. Maybe not even this week, she wanted to have some rest before she took up duties as a savior again.

"If you ever do something like that to me again?" she walked the stroller toward him, David stopped crying when there was movement, "Then I'll shoot you before I leave."

He gave a wry smile, "Okay."

She returned the smile, "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go get breakfast."

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The party was that night. Emma didn't want to go really, but from what Jefferson had told her though his own amusement, Mary Margaret had about cleaned the town out preparing for her arrival party and so Emma would go without complaint. She bought a nice blue dress for the occasion.

She dressed and was preparing the baby for the evening out when her father came home. She was singing the baby a lullaby that her father had taught her when she was young when he came into the room.

"I didn't know you remembered that," he told her when she stopped.

Emma blushed, "I remember a lot of things you sang to me when I was little."

"You look nice."

She looked down at the dress. It hugged her slight curves and was above the knee but not so much that it would cause attention. Those days were LONG over.

"Thank you," she said and prepared to put him in the stroller, "Jefferson stopped by today."

She watched him tense, "He did, did he?"

"It was fine," she said, "He didn't hurt me."

"I should never have allowed him anywhere near you."

"Trust me," she said and nodded, "You did us both a service when you let us be friends."

She didn't tell him that he'd told her why he did it. They'd talked about it that morning in his car after breakfast. Away from everyone who had watched them in the diner. He'd told her about Regina's proposition and how he did it to drive her away and protect her from Regina and himself. He didn't want to even consider the temptation of what he'd have to do to get Grace back.

She couldn't say she was shocked at who was responsible…and his own logic made sense in his own eyes. He just didn't count on Regina having someone tracking her out there. She didn't tell him about that though. Some things were better left unsaid. It'd hurt him if he knew that she was in danger from Regina out there too.

"Emma," her father started when she began to buckle David up.

"Hm?" she asked.

He shrugged, "Would you leave the baby here? I haven't seen him all day."

That was a relief. She was willing to let people see the baby but she knew that they'd all want to hold him and he'd be passed around and Emma wasn't sure if she wanted a thousand eyes staring at her kid yet, "Alright."

Her son grabbed her finger and she smiled and kissed his little fist.

"I better go," she said and pulled on her coat, "It's probably not right that you're late for your own homecoming party."

"Emma," he started.

She looked up at him and watched him struggle with what he was about to say.

"After the party, I'll tell you why we're here."


	45. Chapter 45

The party was small thank God. Emma didn't really want to feel like she was standing in front of an audience that was waiting for her to screw up. They had it at the diner; Red and Granny were there of course, Archie, Graham, Mary Margaret and a few other townspeople that Emma didn't particularly recognize had left their little houses despite their fear of Mr. Gold to welcome his daughter back home.

Or else they were just here for the food.

Everyone clapped when she came in and she felt heat rising to her cheeks. They were celebrating her return and it wasn't like she had done anything worthwhile that caused her absence so…just having a party felt wrong.

But for the sake of Mary Margaret and her father and a Mr. Clark (Who was still probably nursing the angry wounds Mary Margaret left him when buying party favors), she smiled and acted surprised. They had gone out of their way to get everything set up; she could at least enjoy it.

There was no one else that was her age here with maybe the exception of Ruby, who was closest to her age biologically. Emma didn't really mind that though…gone for two years, everyone she knew at school was still the same place in time and there wasn't anyone she knew at eighteen.

Mary Margaret hugged her first and welcomed her back. Ruby followed suit and pulled her into a crushing hug. Emma wasn't so sure that all the werewolf genes were gone in her Storybrooke self and she struggled to breathe afterwards. Ruby pulled back, it was hard to believe that she was the best friend of her mother, "Where's the baby?"

"I left him…," she gestured to the house, "he was tired and cranky so…

Ruby smirked, "Which one? The baby or your dad?"

"Ruby!" Granny scolded, "Why don't you go serve some drinks?"

Ruby scowled, "I should've gone with you."

"She would've regretted it," Emma told Granny who had heard the whisper, "I did."

"Well, you're back now," Granny said and watched her carefully, "Bring the baby by tomorrow, I'd love to see him."

Emma wanted to say that she didn't think that'd be best because she wanted to keep him out of the public sight as much as possible. But…it was Granny, not Regina, and it was hard telling Granny 'no'.

"I'll see what I can do."

Archie offered her therapy…discounted of course, which Emma politely told him she'd think about. After the talk she was expecting to have with her father tonight, she might need some professional help. Besides, she liked Archie; he was like the second on the list that she'd made as a little girl about who she wanted to marry.

And then there was Graham, he played darts for most of the night and stayed to himself. He only approached when the small party began to settle down and she'd gone to the bar for a refill of her soda.

"If this party gets any more wild then you may have to shut it down," she teased and accepted a full glass.

"Well I was worried there for a while when Mrs. Lucas had something in that punch, so I decided to stick around and make sure."

"Well," she leaned towards him, "We are very lucky to have such a caring man as you protecting our drinks from getting spiked."

"I do what I can," he said awkwardly and looked down at his own drink.

"Did you come to the party because you wanted something?" Emma asked, "And if you say that you're here to get my dad to discount your rent, please don't because I've already heard that one three times."

"Three?" he asked in faux disappointment.

She held up three fingers.

"Actually, I'm here to offer you a job," he said cautiously, "How would you like to come on as my deputy."

"Sounds intriguing," she said, "And why are you offering me this job on my second day home after I ran off?"

"Because you were out in the world, you'll know the signs more than anyone of crime and danger and our town spinning off the rails…"

"Ah, since I've been on the other side of crime."

"You're going to need a job," he reminded her, "Unless you plan to take over your father's business."

"Ugh, no," she said and took a sip. No, in more ways than one.

"Well, you know my number, hasn't changed…just…let me know if you think about it."

"I will," Emma said and took another sip when her mother came up to her.

"So the sheriff seemed interested."

"He's only interested that I do all his paperwork for him," Emma muttered and rested her head against her mother's shoulder when Mary Margaret gave her a quick embrace.

"I'm happy you're back," Mary said.

Emma grabbed a napkin and started fiddling with it, "How's he been?"

Mary pressed her lips together, "He's been…colder…more aloof. A bit more brutal-."

Emma straightened, "He hasn't hurt anyone has he?"

"No," Mary Margaret shook her head, "Nothing like that….it's just that…he missed you…and I missed you and don't' run off again because we didn't know where you were and-."

"I'm sorry," Emma said and wrapped her arm around her mother, "I won't leave again."

Mary Margaret wrapped a couple of stray tears from her eyes and smiled, "Well, you're back now, that's all that matters."

Oh, if it could only be so easy.

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Rumpelstiltskin played with the baby a bit more in hopes of making him more tired in hopes of talking to Emma in peace.

Little David had other plans though. He refused his early feeding and practically made Rumpelstiltskin dance for his own amusement.

It was late when Rumpelstiltskin fed him and put him in his crib. Emma was already pulling into the driveway when he got back downstairs. He barely made it to the living room when she came in, "Emma, how was everything?"

"Fine," she looked at him, he hadn't had time to sit down yet. Diving over the table might've been pushing it, "Leroy tried to spike the punch when I said I was done with it. I came home."

This felt so awkward, "Good call."

She nodded and shifted back and forth, "I should…check on the baby."

"Actually," he held out his hand, "I was hoping that we could talk."

"But-."

He couldn't let her get upstairs; if she did then he'd lose his nerve, "I just put him down, Emma. He's fine….we need to get this over with."

Emma put her hands in her coat pockets, "Alright."

He gestured to the chair, "Would you like to sit down?"

"I'm fine here," she said.

"Emma, it's a long story, just please sit down."

She reluctantly crossed over into the room and sat down on one of the winged chairs stiffly. Rumpelstiltskin sat down as well and folded his hands together, "You know I'm not a good man. I've always been honest with you about that since you were a baby."

She didn't say anything, she kept her face unemotional and she didn't argue. She just waited.

So he took a breath and he told her everything; he told her about being a poor sheep farmer and about Milah and her fate, he told her about Bae and the gaining of the dark power when he tried to save him from certain death. He told her about how he came to lose the very child he was trying to protect and how he lost his mind for the next 300 years trying to rectify that mistake. He admitted to the lives he ruined and manipulated. He made no apologies for it; he didn't try to excuse what he was. She wanted it out on the table and there it was.

"….and I told your mother that I would protect you and here we are," he finished.

Emma sat with her jaw clenched, "So…that's it then? Anything else I should know about ahead of time so I don't find it out from someone else?"

He looked humiliated, "That's everything."

"So you ripped apart my family to find your son," she said and felt tears surfacing, "All the while, you had plans to use me as your pawn."

"Not always."

"You adopted me," she stared, "Because I would be useful to you. You had no thought about whether or not you'd love me or care for me. As far as you knew, I'd grow up in an unloved home but hey, as long as I kept playing the destiny you assigned for me and you let my mother see me then you were fine with whatever mental or emotional problems I might have under your roof! Lucky for me you learned to care for me like a daughter!"

"I grew to love you, you already know that."

"That hardly matters; you didn't know that at the time you made the deal with my mother! And as far as you were concerned, then I'd never know the truth about-."

"Well of course I wouldn't want you to know everything because I knew that you would react this way," he said angrily, "And it's not like I didn't ever want to explain. I was prepared to do it but you ran away before I Had time-."

"You HAD time!" she snapped, "For sixteen years you had time. And don't sit there and pretend like I wasn't old enough because you dumped off all this savior stuff on me when I was seven. _Seven years old_ dad. Most kids that age are trying to understand fractions and making sure their multiplication and division is correct! I got told that an entire world depended on me!"

"I wanted to tell you because you were starting to put everything together because of that book and I didn't want you to learn about your destiny from that thing. There were no good choices at that time-."

"I know that," she snapped and ran a hand through her hair in frustration, "But I wouldn't be in that position if not for you and what you did."

"Everything I've done is for _my son_. One day you'll understand that a parent does anything they can and you'll understand how far they're willing to go sometimes when that child is in danger or alone."

"That doesn't mean you have the right to rip everyone else apart," she screamed.

"And finding out things about me that you don't like even though I've always called myself a monster doesn't give you the right to run away. My God, Emma, You didn't even call your mother. None of us knew where you were; don't you understand how scared everyone was? How scared I was? You could've been hurt! And you knew your destiny and put yourself in a position to where you might get pregnant and bring a child into all this too! It wouldn't have hurt you to pick up the phone and let us know that you were safe instead of waiting until you nearly gave birth to ask for my help. You're right, I did not love you when I adopted you and I didn't care about who I would hurt when I was getting my son back. And in a lot of ways I haven't changed but in some ways I have. One of them being that I love you and I love that baby upstairs. Now I could have used him as leverage to get you to come home but I never did. I'm aware that one good deed doesn't change a man. I'm aware of that Emma, and I have a lot I need to answer for. But in the end, so do you. I abandoned my son for one second and people were hurt by that. I am NOT a good person and I never pretend to be. But you made a conscious decision to abandon our family and you hurt several others by doing that as well. You can sit there and judge me for the lives I've taken and ruined and you honestly wouldn't be wrong. You have every reason to keep the baby from me and to stay away from me yourself…but you do also need to understand that I am not that man anymore. Not completely. I _love _you."

"Not completely," she repeated his words with a tired sigh. He was just providing himself a way out of trying to do the right thing all the time, "That's what I'm worried about."

He rolled his eyes, "Emma."

"I can't do this without you in my corner," she said and drew in a breath, "I have Jefferson for a guide, and I have my mother for support but you're the only one there for me that is both. And while they both have each other's roles as well…neither one of them do it in the amount that you do. In 10 years…I know that something is going to happen to make me want to pick up the savior mantle so to speak…and I cannot do this without your support. But I will _not _be a pawn in your games and neither will my family be. I refuse. Don't you want to change from the man you used to be?"

"I can't change."

"Anyone can change," she said.

He scoffed, he didn't believe her. He still thought she was the same naïve little Emma, so Emma went straight to the heart of the matter, "Baelfire won't like what you've become either if you ever find him again. He was your moral center, the same as what you've made me into. You want to change? I think you do, you just don't think it's possible. If you want to change then you can do it. You want a reason then do it for us. And do it because you're sorry. Because if you're still the same as you've always been and Baelfire hates you for it then everything will have been for nothing…and then how will you look at yourself?"

He stared at her, "And why are you so confident that I'll be able to be better?"

The words hurt as they came out, "Because I want to trust you again, and I can't if we keep going like this. I don't want it to be how it used to be between us, I want it to be better than what we were. Now I know that I hurt you, and words cannot express how sorry I am. But I'm willing to be better…I want you to aspire for that too. And it doesn't have to be for me, and it doesn't have to be for Baelfire but you have to be better for your grandson because for ten years you're example is going to be the only one that he really knows."

He looked down, completely tense. Emma put her hand on his and moved to sit across from him. Didn't she understand that he WANTED to be better? He'd tried to so many times and it never worked. It never worked for Milah, it never worked for Bae, or Belle….

Or maybe he could learn from his experiences maybe he could disappoint and hurt her but maybe he could try. Maybe with the Dark One gone and a daughter and grandson and son somewhere in this world…with all this to lose then he could find the motivation to be a better man.

Emma sat on the coffee table and grabbed his hands. Her eyes were pleading, "I am so sorry…for everything I've done to hurt you."

His defense crumbled, much like it always did when she gave him those eyes that said that she'd been hurt. He knew that she would need time to forgive him for this but she was offering the branch…he tightened the grip on her hand and began sobbing. He'd done all of them a horrible injustice and he knew that he didn't deserve anything she was offering, "I'm sorry too."

Emma watched his entire demeanor as he put his head in his hands and she embraced him and held him as he realized all the wrongs he'd caused on his family.

It was a start.

**A/N: I should start to say that Emma and Gold's relationship isn't going to be repaired THAT quickly or easily but I wanted to get everything they feel about each other and the mistakes they've made and what its cost them out of the way. I think they love each other, but they've also hurt each other in a way that can't be forgiven so easily and I'm not going to make it easy. Especially when Rumpel's method of dealing with threats clashes over how Emma thinks they should be dealt with but that's all I'm going to say about that….**

**On a lighter note: Graham or Jefferson? **


	46. Chapter 46

Dinner for the next night was a silent affair at first. Emma didn't expect any less since she'd invited Jefferson and…Rumpelstiltskin hadn't forgiven him for his part in Emma leaving yet.

But it was for the best in the long run, putting them into the same room. Emma needed both of them for support and that wouldn't work as well if they were angry at each other.

So they sat in silence. Emma had to say that that was far better than how she thought it would go. Her father had promised that he wouldn't slam Jefferson upside the face with the cane but that didn't mean he wasn't going to hurt him in another way.

He had promised to try and change but she didn't expect results in the first 24 hours.

So they sat quietly, Rumpelstiltskin had made a large breakfast for dinner, which had always been Emma's favorite. Hash browns, and eggs, and pancakes and sausage and biscuits…Emma hadn't had a home cooked meal in two years and she needed to make up for lost time.

"So…Jefferson started and stared into his hash browns awkwardly, "How is it out there in this world?"

Rumpelstiltskin shot him a furious glare, "How dare you think to ask her that."

"It's only a question."

"You have no right after what _you _did," Rumpelstiltskin seethed.

"I wouldn't be talking about what _I _did if I were you," Jefferson snapped.

"It's fine!" Emma said harshly to both of them. She didn't want this to spin out of control and it looked like it was about to go down that route, "It's fine. I got my fill of the world out there and I'm back now. I'd happily take ogres and witches as compared to some of the things that I saw or went through-."

"No, you wouldn't," Rumpelstiltskin said and took a drink of his orange juice.

"Yeah…your father has a point," Jefferson said, "Ogres and witches aren't something to mess with. At least with things out there, you came back-."

That earned him another glare from Rumpelstiltskin. It was a sore spot that Jefferson didn't know about but she was quite aware of it herself. Her father had barely survived a battle in the Ogre war and that was because he ran. There was no way he could've won and so he'd done the smart thing…not necessarily the right thing and so when the recruiters found him, they pulled him out of the bushes and made sure he could never run again and sent him home in disgrace.

It was only a story that she was told last night. His leg had been the price he had to pay for his cowardice and in the end, he lost so much more.

She better change the subject before they began fighting again, "Graham offered me a job."

Rumpelstiltskin stopped but Jefferson kept eating. Her father studied her for a second, as if he was trying to figure out if this would benefit him or not, "Are you going to take it?"

"I don't know," she said and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I don't know."

"Well why don't you take it?" Jefferson asked.

"Because I have a baby," Emma said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, I could watch him while you work," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"Yeah, it's not like he does anything all day," Jefferson smirked, "Or if you want, I imagine you could put him in the office with you. Ever since you used Graham's heart to keep him out of Regina's bed, she's had no reason to go in there."

"Sidney still does, I imagine," Emma muttered, "Constantly trying to expose a scandal. He's been circling me like a vulture, trying to get an interview out of his story; _Runaway Landlords Daughter returns home Teen Mom with a Juvie Record._"

"I can make him drop that story," Rumpelstiltskin hissed.

Emma looked at him sadly, "And give everyone more reason to talk? He's just putting on paper what everyone is saying, we all know it."

Rumpelstiltskin tensed, "I will not have you being reminded constantly for something you did and are now trying to atone for. Especially from one of Regina's pawns. I _will not _let that stand."

He said the last sentence so loud that the baby began crying from the living room. Emma and Rumpelstiltskin stood to see to him at the same time but Emma was already to the door before he could grab his cane.

Rumpelstiltskin sat back down and they listened to Emma's gentle whispers and the baby stopped crying.

Jefferson looked at Rumpelstiltskin, "I'm sorry for what I did."

"Emma explained it to me," he said tersely, "I know why you pushed her away. But it doesn't mean that I have to like it nor does it mean I have to like you for your hand in robbing me of two years with my daughter."

Jefferson looked ashamed of himself. Good, "It's still nice to have her back though."

Rumpelstiltskin felt himself smile slightly at his daughter as she whispered gently to David and rubbed his back. She was home now. She was safe for the time being.

"Indeed."

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The worse thing about making breakfast for dinner was the mess it left in the kitchen afterwards. Emma cursed the dishes as she scrubbed and scrubbed until they showed signs of being clean. Jefferson was no help, he was too busy holding David and leaning against the part of the sink that was unoccupied, "I _could _work as a deputy."

"I think you'd do well," Jefferson said but his concentration was more on David, who was slapping at his face in some sort of game the baby was playing. Or maybe he was just discovering his limbs. Emma wasn't sure.

"What do you think?" she asked.

He turned his focus on her and shrugged, "Well, it's a job. Do you want it?"

"Yes."

"Then take it. What's holding you back?"

She sighed and looked for the right words to say, "I just got home two days ago, I'm trying to learn how to be a mom, I'm trying to readjust to being Rumpelstiltskin's daughter…and the Graham drops in to my 'Welcome Home' party and tells me that he wants me to work for him? I haven't even had time to let everything my dad told me last night sink in."

"Well Emma, everyone's stuck in the same loop and it's not like anyone's going to take that job from you. Graham will need a deputy when you're 18, 21, or 25 years old. So, there's no hurry. If you want to rest then take a month off or two. If you want to take it later then take it. If you want to take it now, then take it now."

Emma nodded and then said thoughtfully, "Do you think he'd let me turn that other office into a nursery."

"I don't see the taxpayers going for that."

Emma shrugged, "Me either."

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It was near sunset and it was quiet in the house. Emma had seen Jefferson off, normally that would worry him because of his daughter's previous attachment but she'd seemed to take a couple of steps back form him since having her heart broken by that worthless scum she was dating.

He grabbed a cane and walked to the porch where Emma was sitting on the swing with an awake but content David resting on her chest, "Do you mind?"

She shook her head, "Go ahead."

He sat next to her with a sigh and smiled slightly. He couldn't put into words how much he missed this, "Lovely evening."

"Yeah, it was…nice out here so we decided to have a moment."

"I often did this with you when you were a baby," he told her, "Some days, if it was warm enough, I would bring you out here and we would just spend a few hours outside enjoying the nice warm weather."

"I remember you chasing me around the yard telling me to get back on the porch," she said with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, that was a different story and you were walking then and you had a remarkable habit of going right to the place where you'd end up in the most danger," he smiled at the memories.

"Things were simpler then," Emma noted and rubbed her son's back.

"They were," he agreed.

"Still have a horrible habit of wandering off and getting in trouble though," she said bitterly.

He looked down, "I know this life has been hard for you…and I'm so sorry."

"It hasn't been all bad," Emma wiped a stray tear away before it could fall down her face, "You haven't been so bad as a father…far less horrible than you seem you think you are and I did miss you. A part of me even came to miss the town a bit too."

He took his daughter's hand and then froze when he saw the familiar car drive by.

Regina.

Emma saw her too and her hand automatically went up to hold her son tighter to her chest. Their eyes met through the passenger window but Regina didn't slow down. She just kept driving.

Calm before the storm.

Emma looked unsettled, "I'm going inside."

"I think I'll join you," he told her. There was no point in sitting out here now that the moment was ruined.

**A/N: Bit of a calming moment before the next wave of Hurricane Regina tries to tear the small family apart. And I've really wanted to write a little family dinner with Emma and her best guys for a while now. **

** Well, thanks for everyone's input last chapter. I'm honestly surprised at how many reviews I got. Don't worry; I have a plan in how this is going to go down. And don't mentally panic, I'm not so unorganized as to allow popular vote determine several features of the endgame for the story. There is a plan. I just wanted to see where everyone stood in this. **


	47. Chapter 47

When David turned four months old, Emma felt confident enough to call Graham and take him up on his offer to be a deputy. Graham seemed pleased when she talked to him on the phone and she had to admit that there was a bit of excitement in his voice the next couple of times he talked to her. She had gotten her GED while in prison so she was…pretty much qualified. Or she would be in the normal world. All she needed here was Graham's favor and she seemed to have it for some odd reason. But then again Graham had always been nice to her.

That morning, waking up was…miserable. David was still having problems sleeping through the night still and he had given a hard time that night. Emma worried that he might be coming down with something so she'd just let him sleep next to her so that she could get some rest.

Morning came all too soon. Emma wasn't sure how, but the alarm clock 'mysteriously' landed up against the wall.

David was still sleeping, so she made the pillows into a makeshift crib and pulled herself out of bed. By pulled herself out, she meant she just sort of rolled out of bed and onto the floor.

Her father was shaving when she finally stumbled towards the bathroom.

"You look terrible," he told her without looking back.

"Parenthood," was all she explained and walked to the second sink to wash her face, "David kept me up I think half the night.

"Been there and done that," he told her, "It'll be okay, it'll stop when he's about five."

Emma sighed and grabbed a toothbrush, "Maybe sometimes he'll sneak into his big softy grandfather's room."

"I won't allow it."

Emma shoved the toothbrush in their mouth, "He already has you wrapped around his finger and don't think I haven't heard you entertaining your rent victims with stories of you doting on him."

Rumpelstiltskin feigned shock, "I don't know what you're talking about, dear.

Emma muttered a 'hm' and spit out her toothpaste a few minutes later, "I'll stop by the office to see David if I get a lunch break."

"You're not having breakfast?"

"I don't have time," she looked at her watch, "My alarm clock broke."

He rolled his eyes, "Oh, I see."

"Just glad that I packed some lunch last night," she muttered and ran a brush through her impossible hair.

"Take a coat," he pulled one of his expensive silk shirt over his black undershirt, "It's supposed to rain."

Emma smiled slightly, "You're such a _dad." _

"You want to catch pneumonia on your very first day?" he asked and reached for his tie, "Are you not even showering?"

"I'm running late, my alarm broke and I showered last night," she went to change out of her pajamas.

"Perhaps the alarm wouldn't break if you didn't throw it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she countered and left the bathroom, still trying to fight her hair with the brush.

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He was making a small breakfast when Emma raced down the stairs still pulling her coat over her shirt.

"I'm going," she announced

"Don't you have to wear that brown shirt with the tie like they do on television," he teased.

"No way am I wearing that," she said and kissed her son on the cheek. He gurgled contently and tried to reach for her hair. She pulled it away and went to her, "Try not to make too many people cry, I don't want to be the one stuck solving your murder when the curse breaks."

"As if they could hope to touch me," he kissed her on the cheek. Since she'd been home, they'd built a …somewhat stable relationship but it was nowhere near what it should be. They put on a good show sometimes and they talked a bit…but they were skating on thin ice still.

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Emma pulled to the sheriff's station with just about a minute to spare.

Her father used to say that he never missed the stage in her life when she didn't sleep through the night. Emma was starting to understand that in a whole new way and SHE didn't have any expensive suits for David to spit up on like he had with her.

She jogged up the steps and walked through the door. There was a bassinet in the glass room that Graham had set up but Emma wasn't quite sure if she wanted to use it. The last thing little David needed was a drunken Leroy singing him lullabies.

Two people were standing with Graham when she came in. They were dressed in cheap suits and weren't anyone Emma recognized, "Hello."

"Emma," Graham went to stand next to her, "These gentlemen are from the state, they're here to ask you a few questions."

"About what?" she asked.

He leaned in closer and he seemed very distressed and upset, "They're from Child Protective Services, they got reports that you're abusing your son."

Emma felt the air being driven from her lungs, "I've _never _hurt my son."

"I believe you," he said and turned an accusing eye at both men, "But they don't know that."

"IT's just a few questions, Ms. Gold," the first man said, "Please."

"I'll be right out here," Graham told her

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"Regina's responsible for this," Emma hissed through her tears as she stood in front of her father an hour later.

They'd come to question Rumpelstiltskin too, and he allowed them to examine David to prove that there was no bruises or cuts that could confirm any abuse. It had been…quite a struggle to hold his temper in while the state questioned him and accused his daughter of hurting her son. They questioned his integrity and that cut deep as well, didn't they know who he was?

No, they didn't. Thank God for that because if they did, then he'd be locked p and Emma would never see David again.

His own fury left him shaking but he was a strategist as well so he put his anger to the back of his mind and focused on the problem, "Emma, we have to get a solution for this problem- they left us with a warning that one day they'd be back."

"And what happens then?" Emma demanded, "Does she hurt David and then make it look like we're responsible? Or does she find someone desperate enough for a bribe and she lines their pockets if they take David away from me? What if they look into my own adoption and find out that it wasn't quite as legal as everyone's been led to believe? She's going to use her influence to take my son from me."

"Well Emma, what do you propose we do?"

"I could take the baby and run."

"And go where?" he asked angrily. He felt his heart race; he just got her back and he wasn't going to let Regina take her away from him, "What do you think is going to happen when they come back and you've taken your son and left town?"

Emma wiped an angry tear from her eye, "Do you have any other solutions? Because from where I'm standing…I can't go after her without getting myself in trouble and risk losing David and my job."

He stared at his daughter while she paced. He saw how desperate she was to protect her son. HE didn't tell her this now because it would set her off…but there was a good chance Regina might offer to take care of David if they found that Emma could not. He kept his mouth shut though; she didn't need to know that.

And since she was desperate then she would understand why he would do what he needed to do, "I can get her to drop the charges."

"Have my daddy run in and save the day?" she said wryly, "Shouldn't I be learning how to do all this myself?"

"The greatest advantage to someone does not lay in just how strong they are but also in how trustworthy their allies are," he told her, "And I'm you're most powerful ally that you'll ever have. Are you willing to go as far as it takes to protect your son?"

Emma leaned over with her palms pressed against the table, "Farther."

He smiled. Emma knew what he was capable of, she could not sit there and judge him when he got the charges dropped because she knew what he was and she gave him permission to use it, "Now we're talking."

And from the look on Emma's face, she realized that she made a mistake.


	48. Chapter 48

Emma knew of her error the second she made it but in that second, it was far too late to beg him to stop doing whatever it was that he was thinking. Once the Dark One made a decision there was no turning back and she knew that him being in that mindset now was her fault.

She didn't eat that night, she didn't have the stomach for it and her father didn't offer to cook. In fact, the minute, he got home he went to the basement and didn't come out. Emma looked down on him later to see that he was working at the wheel. She didn't disturb him. The basement was his sanctuary and while he'd enjoyed her presence there as a child and would most likely enjoy David's when he was older…that was not her place to confront him.

She took the baby into her room that night. It wasn't anything against her father; it was just that she felt safer with him with her after what Regina pulled. David seemed happy to see her and unusually oblivious to what was going on around him. He coo'd and gurgled and laughed when she played with him. Once Emma had to stop him when he rolled from his stomach to his back and then nearly fell off the bed. She picked him up and held him close when he started fussing at being jostled, "It's okay David, dad says when he put me in the yard, I rolled out into the street the second his back was turned."

Oh course it wouldn't be very hard to just go downstairs to talk to him, would it?

But they would fight. He would refuse to listen to her. They would bring up old hurts in an attempt to get one over on the other and in the end, nothing would be done except for the complete destruction of their relationship.

Besides, going down there now to tell him that she didn't mean it would just make it sound like she didn't trust him.

Well, she didn't but that was beside the point.

They were trying to rebuild their relationship. He had agreed to try and change. He wouldn't do anything about this without consulting her. Going downstairs now to beg him to reconsider would just make it look like she didn't trust him and he'd get angry.

She poured over her options while her son slept on her chest until finally she drifted off to sleep.

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"And here I thought that I'd come to miss these early morning excursions while you were gone."

Emma turned and scowled at a sleepy Jefferson as they hiked to the spot in the woods near the border. It was a warm morning and the sun was just barely rising so he hadn't bothered to dress in anything but a rather form fitting t shirt and jeans. He didn't even wear his cravat. The old Emma would've fawned over ever muscle rippling underneath the thin fabric and the fact that he felt comfortable enough with her to not wear anything to hide the grotesque scar running around his neck when he'd gone to such measures to hide it before.

The old Emma would've hardly been able to focus with this in front of her but she wasn't that Emma anymore. She wasn't a child with a crush, she was a woman carting around a baby in one of those torso carrier things, and she felt like a dork. She was a savior now and she didn't have time to admire the view anymore. She had her son to protect and her father to stop.

He shoved through the clearing and stopped and Emma breathed a sigh of relief when she knew that they made it. It was one thing going up here herself, it was another to cart a four month old who liked to eat on her chest.

"Emma-," he said hesitantly.

She moved around him and saw that there was a hole in the ground…

Where Graham's heart should be.

"Oh no," she whispered and ran a hand through her hair. She'd been hoping that he wouldn't resort to this. That he wouldn't use their only leverage and an innocent life on top of everything….

"You need to find your father," Jefferson said and turned to her, "He'll be looking for Regina."

"She'll be heading to her office," Emma said and started searching for her car keys, "I have to-."

"You need to run," he told her and held his hands out, "But you can't run with your son bouncing along. I'll take him home."

Jefferson was in the process of helping her pull that harness off when she remembered what he'd just done to her two years ago. She hesitated a bit and he seemed to read her tension because he put his hand on her shoulder, "Graham's life is in danger Emma."

She reluctantly handed her son over and pulled herself out of the harness and then when she decided she trusted him, raced town the border to town.

Jefferson looked at the scowling baby and gave him a wry smile, "So, I guess it's just you and me, huh?"

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He had his family safe at home for two months and Regina had struck where it hurt both Emma and Rumpelstiltskin. She had threatened the baby and if she expected them…if she expected _him _to just wait around for her to hit them again then she was making a mistake.

Surely she hadn't forgotten who he was. He was the dark one. He was the mentor and she was the student. He was the master manipulator who once held her against the wall by her throat and threatened her life if she ever attempted to hurt Emma. Did she forget so easily that she didn't think he'd retaliate once his grandson was in trouble?

Regina opened the door to her office and walked across the room to turn on the lamp. She jumped when she saw him. He expected some kind of reaction, but she just rolled her eyes, "Oh, it's you."

The arrogance of this one, "You tried to take my grandson."

"I had nothing to do with that."

He felt his hand clench his cane and he struggled not to drive it into her skull, it took everything to say furiously, "You are a dreadful liar."

'I just let told them that your little David might be in an abusive unfit environment and with you for a grandfather and a felon runaway for a mother, can you blame me for drawing that conclusion? Well, at least he doesn't' have to worry about any genetics getting passed down from you…at the end of the day; he and his mother aren't yours are they?" she smirked wider at the fury in his face, "One day her mother will awaken if this curse is broken and perhaps her father will awaken and she'll have Snow White and Prince Charming for parents and they'll be such a better choice that she'll ignore and forget you and I still win."

He let his anger override his sense and he started towards her. Her smug mask slipped and he saw a bit of fear before she recovered and continued, "Careful Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't want to prove me right to the state, now would you?"

"Oh, I'm not going to mess up your face, dearie." He said and slammed the box on table between them.

Regina's eyes grew, "Is that-?"

"Yes dearie," He said, "See I could just say _please _to get you to do what I want but I know you'd find a way around it and if I don't take drastic measures now…how will you learn how serious your actions are?"

Regina swallowed a bit, "Go ahead, what do I care? You made sure to end our relationship when you got his heart. You controlled him, so really, how are you better than me?"

"Because we both know that while you may not care for his life any more than I do, you hate losing…and dearie," he picked up a small statue and took the heart out, "You're going to lose today."

He raised the statue, prepared to bring it down on the heart.

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Emma didn't bother to listen at the door of Regina's office. She knew that there wouldn't be time. There had been a choice. Regina's house or her office. Emma had made a choice to go to the office first and she burst through and prayed that she was right…

When she saw her father standing in front of Regina with a statue aimed for the heart she froze in place. Her father turned to her and stopped when he saw her staring at him in terror, "Emma?"

Emma didn't know how she found her voice, "Dad! No! Put it down."

Regina got over the shock and turned to sneer at Rumpelstiltskin, "Yes, put it down Rumpelstiltskin, listen to your bleeding heart daughter…poor choice of words…"

"Go home Emma," he told her tersely, "Go to your son."

"Not without you," Emma challenged and held her ground. He wanted a savior, he was about to get it.

"I told you to go home."

"That's Graham's heart," Emma choked through tears, "He's under my protection. Don't hurt him, please. Please don't. He's important to me. He's always been good to us….he stood up for me yesterday. He told them he didn't believe I would hurt David. You can't hurt him just to make a point!"

"I have to," Rumpelstiltskin said, "How else is she going to learn?"

"No you don't!" Emma searched for something to say, "Because if you do this then I'll never forgive you."

"Do you think I WANT to murder him?" he demanded, "I never wanted to hurt innocent people but I had to in order to get us this far. You've lost so much already, I don't want you to lose your son too. You'll forgive me when you realize that I was right."

"No," Emma said and shook her head, "Not for this."

"I would think that you would understand," he said, "You told me that you were willing to go as far as it took Emma. I thought this would be obvious what I'd do. I'm almost disappointed-."

"We don't do this," Emma told him, "We don't sacrifice the lives of the innocent to get ahead of her. Because how are we better? "

"No, _you _don't because you're the hero. I would because I'm the monster."

"You are allied with me!" Emma told him through tears, "Which means that whatever you do, I'm responsible for as well. That means that the blood is on my hands too. You're greatest strength lies in your allies, right? So what does that mean for me if I'm allied with you? Don't put me with that if you care…don't be a monster when you don't have to be."

He kept the small statue raised and Emma tried to think through her panicked tears, "You kill him and I'll leave. I swear I will."

"You gave your word that you'd _stay_." He hissed.

"Oh I'll stay in town," she told him, "But that doesn't mean I'll live under your roof and that doesn't mean you get anywhere near _my _son if you're so willing to sacrifice innocent lives."

"And so that's what you're going to do?" he challenged and she saw unspeakable pain in his eyes when he processed what she said, "Run away?"

"I learned from the best," she whispered and it stung him and it hurt her to say it. She had never thought of him as a coward until he used his magic for a crutch and so to call him one now.., "You'll have your wish, I'll be home but that doesn't mean you'll have me back."

"I'm doing this _for _you."

"No you're not," Emma told him. She closed her eyes and drew in a shaky breath, "And I don't want to leave but if you do this then you'll give me no choice because I have to do what's best for David and it wouldn't be best for him if I stayed with you. Come home, dad. Please come home. There will be another way. Please. Don't kill him."

"And do what, Emma?" he demanded, "Pretend that we can have a better relationship than we did. Everything's _wrong _now."

"It takes time. The feelings of hurt and betrayal don't go away in a matter of months. We have to work at it and if you kill Graham then you're destroying everything we've accomplished so far. Please dad, this isn't the Enchanted Forest. Killing someone will have repercussions here. _Don't do it," _He faltered and she wiped tears away from her face, "Let's just go home, dad. Please."

He tensed and Emma swore that he was going to drive the statue into the heart and ruin everything but reluctantly, he finally lowered the statue and Emma sighed in relief and held her hand out. Her father took her outstretched hand and turned to Regina, "Stay away from my family and keep your minions away as well after you drop the charges and tell the state that you were making a mistake, _please._"

Rumpelstiltskin put Graham's heart into the box and handed it to Emma. Emma understood the implications. He trusted her with it because he no longer trusted himself.

"Why couldn't you have just said please done that years ago?" Emma asked as he led her out the door

"Because I know how to pick my battles and doing so might've let her know that I remembered and was protecting you for more than just fatherly concern," he told her, "And up until now, I was sure that we could fight our battles without using it."

Emma put her hand on her father's arm and led him out to the car.

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Emma sat with her father in the car. She noticed how badly she was shaking finally when she gripped the steering wheel. She had succeeded; she had kept him from murdering Graham. Why did she still feel like she failed?

Her father stared ahead angrily and she knew that she should say something, "Thank you…"

"For what?" he demanded, "Showing her our weaknesses? Airing our family problems-."

"You spared Graham's life."

"And now we lost our leverage because she knows that we won't use it."

"We saved a man's life," Emma repeated, "And you had mercy. I think that's some progress."

"Toward what goal?" he said and looked at her, "Every time I do something wrong or something bad happens, you'll just threaten to leave. I still don't think you fully understand what your absence did to me Emma. And I know that I deserved it after what I put you through and I deserve a lot more than that, but some days I could hardly get out of bed because it hurt so much to see you gone"

"Then stop giving me a reason to want to leave," she said simply, "You know I'm happy being back home and you know I wouldn't want to leave. You put me in an impossible situation today, what else was I supposed to do? What else was I supposed to say to get your attention?"

He was quiet and Emma was sorry that she hurt him, "Did you mean everything you said?"

"Yes," she told him simply, "Everything but the fact that you were a coward. I only think that when you hide behind your magic or when you hurt innocent people, and you know that already. I know that you don't like the fact that I have a different wish on how I want this battle to be fought but I'm the savior. I have to answer to these people, not you. I have to sleep at night with the decisions that I made. And while I Know I'll be going to sleep sometimes unsure if I made the right decisions, I need to know that I made the right decision this time. Can you understand that?"

He sighed, "More than you know."

Emma believed him; she knew he made those decisions every day. She turned around and grabbed her seatbelt, "I'll drop you off and check on David…and then I need to go to work."

"And what are we going to do with that?" he nodded to the box with the heart inside.

Emma had a solution to that and he wasn't going to like it, 'You're going to use the magic you have left…and we're going to find a way to restore it back to Graham."

He scoffed, "Emma-."

"The last place Regina would think to look is inside his chest," Emma said.

"And it could go badly and he could die or get his memories back."

"You're the dark one," Emma said quietly, "I trust you to make sure that he won't get killed."

"Magic is unpredictable dear."

"Then I imagine we'll figure it out."

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Jefferson sort of regretted not strapping the harness to his chest to carry the baby but Emma looked positively silly, so he wasn't about to do that.

But carrying a squirming baby wasn't as easy as he remembered. He would've just taken the harness if he knew that David wanted to try crawling all over him.

Finally he made it to the Gold house and remembered that he didn't have a key. He could practically hear Rumpelstiltskin's nasally voice gleefully telling him that he never would either.

He sat on one of the rocking chairs on the porch and waited about ten minutes before they finally pulled into the driveway. David squealed when he saw his grandfather and Rumpelstiltskin lifted him out of Jefferson's lap with a grudging thanks. Jefferson stood and jogged down the stairs to Emma's waiting car. Without waiting for her permission, he climbed in the car.

"I have to go to work," she told him.

"Well at least you didn't tell me you were planning a funeral. I suppose that means you succeeded."

Emma looked at him, "Why do I feel like I just delayed the inevitable?"

Jefferson leaned back and gave her a once over, "Do you ever smile anymore Emma?"

"Of course I do!" she protested.

"Then do it more," he told her simply, "You did a great thing today. You might not even comprehend it now but…you saved a man's life…that may pale in comparison when you have an entire world depending on you, but…you saved a man's life. All by yourself. Your father and I didn't help you this time."

Emma managed a small one to make him happy but when she thought about it, she broke out into a bigger one, "I saved a man's life."

He grabbed her head and rested his forehead against her temple in a weird sort of friendship gesture that only made sense when he thought about it. It was better than kissing her cheek; he knew that'd probably earn him a punch.

"I have to go to work," she told him.

"And I must go home," he said, "I'm tired of wearing _normal _clothes."

Emma smirked, "I sort of liked them."

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**Six months ago**

Regina had torn apart the town in the year and a half that Emma had been gone. She'd even risked…going into that stupid cabin that Rumpelstiltskin had for himself and she'd torn it apart but had come up with nothing.

She hated being at a disadvantage. It burned her up inside. Especially when it was against Rumpelstiltskin of all people. He was always eight steps ahead of her and she needed to stop that right now. This was HER happy ending. This was HER town. Not his. He was just a tenant with a lot of money and a child that wasn't even his.

Who happened to be the savior.

She stopped and balled her hand into a fist. He'd tricked her! He told her to go to the other land to get her revenge but he'd said nothing about his curse having a savior. It'd made no sense. They were in this together; he'd created the curse for her. Why would he possibly want a savior to end all of it?

She'd never understand him. What he wanted always went far beyond what she wanted.

But she still had an advantage. She still had Belle locked away in the asylum but she didn't want to use her until she had to. She needed to make sure they had nothing to use in order to get Belle back if they ever found out. Once she nearly bragged to Jefferson that she had her but when she realized that he had a connection to Emma and Rumpelstiltskin, she'd stopped herself from saying anything. No one knew about Belle's identity but her

Perhaps she should slit the girl's throat and put her out of her misery.

No, they'd know it was her that was responsible and while people wouldn't do anything, word would spread. It'd reach Rumpelstiltskin's ears and he was just the person who wasn't afraid of her.

And the last person Regina wanted to learn about this.

She searched Rumpelstiltskin's basement one last time while he was out collecting rent and brushed a hand through her hair.

Where was it? If it wasn't here, where could it be? She searched everywhere in this house and in the yard. She'd broken so many nails and bloodied her fingertips trying to pry open floorboards to find a trap door…there were no hidden panels in the walls and none of his safe's had anything as to Graham's heart's whereabouts?

What about the woods?

She sighed in despair. That opened up so many possibilities. She'd never find it.

But where would be the last place she would look out there?

Regina felt a smile creep to her lips as the next thought made sense.

So few possibilities when one thought like Rumpelstiltskin…

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**Present Day**

Regina watched from her car as Emma and Graham left the diner with their takeout bags in tow. Emma took a sip of her soda while Graham told her a joke and she nearly spit it out laughing.

It was quite the change from the girl that had begged for his life a few hours ago.

Weakling.

Regina looked down at the heart box next to her and smiled contently when she heard it beating. It was a bit…hilarious for her to sit there with his heart in her possession and he was a couple of blocks down, never knowing. Neither did the savior, who never even considered that Regina had found the heart in the months that she'd been gone and traded it with someone else's. Who did she trade it for? Eh, someone unimportant. She hardly remembered who it belonged to and it wasn't important in the long run. Someone expendable.

She patted the box next to her with a smirk. Rumpelstiltskin misjudged her this morning. She wasn't scared of losing, she knew she won. She was just scared of them finding out too soon that Regina had switched them and then they'd come after her harder and faster to protect Graham and everyone else. Emma was such a merciful soul…as if that was a good thing. What had it gotten her? Nothing. She had no leverage now and the leverage she thought she had would never be used.

So Regina would stay away from Emma and Rumpelstiltskin and David because of that cursed deal he forced her to make to get this curse cast. She would drop the charges because he said _please. _And she would behave herself and not use Graham's heart to control him because she certainly didn't want them finding out anytime soon that she had it

But she had leverage of her own now and there was nothing that they could do to stop her from using it the next time she was threatened.

**A/N: I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone for all your generous reviews for this story. I forgot to last time. You guys have been generous to give me over 1,000 reviews which apparently as someone has pointed out…makes my story the 2****nd**** most reviewed OUaT story on Fanfiction. I just wanted to tell you all how much I appreciate it because you have no idea how excited I get to see new reviews in my inbox. You all are fantastic. And a big thank you to Olverabonk for making me listen at the idea of Emma leaving and having Not!Henry. I think it made for a better story thus far. **

** And where oh where is Mary Margaret? Perhaps we'll see her next chapter. **


	49. Chapter 49

Emma took a sip of her coffee and followed Graham into the station, "All I'm saying is….I think it's weird that the Mickeys asked for a play date with my son."

Graham turned around as soon as he walked through the door and stared at Emma behind him, "And what's so wrong about that?"

"He's five months old!" Emma protested, "Why would you arrange play dates for five months old? I mean what are they going to do? Roll in synch and slap at the little things on the toy stations?"

"Children that age ARE remarkably perceptive," he told her and held out the donut box for her to grab her two bear claws. Sometimes the clichés were true, indeed, "They might form a lifelong companionship."

"Well I really doubt that," Emma said and bit into one. Oh that was heavenly, "Besides, if they have play dates at their house, then by obligation, there would be play dates at my house and my father does not usually like children that aren't useful or related to him."

"Why should children be useful?" Graham asked with a cautious edge in his voice.

"Okay, I know how that sounded," Emma said with her mouth partially full, "But that's not how I meant it. My father just tolerates people and children that he can manipulate and make cry later. I don't think he'd enjoy the idea of another rugrat rolling around on his floor if the child wasn't eventually useful."

"So then what does that say about you?"

Emma smirked, easily keeping up the ruse after almost 19 years, "He was hoping to use me to pick up women. He didn't count on the fact that they were creeped out by him no matter how many children he had in tow."

"I honestly don't see your father doing that."

"He has a wild side, let me tell you," she said and dumped her purse on the desk.

The book from her father's library slid out and fell to the floor. Emma sighed and went to pick it up. It was an old book, the writing was nearly illegible but Emma didn't have any use for most of the book, just eight chapters of it and those pages were covered in her father's illegible scrawl, did no one respect books on the other side? It made things far more difficult to translate in their modern day version of English when there were three different versions of English right in front of her. Her father had made sure that she was fluent in eight languages from over there but it was still difficult to remember when she hadn't used it for so long.

The rate she was going, restoring Graham's heart wasn't going to happen until she was eighty.

Graham looked at it with interest, "What's that?"

"One of my fathers," she said, choosing not to completely lie.

"First edition?"

You couldn't get any more first edition than this one

"Almost," she muttered and edged the papers that she was using to translate into her purse.

Graham looked interested, "I'd like to read it…."

"You wouldn't like it," she said, "It's…a chick flick…book…"

Graham raised an eyebrow, "And it's your fathers?"

She shrugged, "I told you that he has a side no one knows about…"

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"EMMA!"

Emma forced her eyes open when she heard the scream from the other room. At first she thought that maybe it was her subconscious…she thought it was a dream that she was having that she'd pulled herself out of. A few seconds of silence passed and she was certain that she'd only dreamed it.

She STILL couldn't get a full night's sleep even _with _David sleeping through the night at five and a half months old.

Emma moaned and put herself face first in the pillow. She was never getting back to sleep now…

"EMMA!"

No, that wasn't a dream. That was her father…

Emma's hand immediately closed on the bat that she kept bedside and scrambled down the hallway. She knew it was more than likely a nightmare but with Regina as their enemy, Emma wasn't about to take a chance.

She reached his room and saw him thrashing around on his bed. His bad leg was twisted under him in a painful position and if he woke and tried to get up then the covers would become wrapped in his legs and he'd go tumbling if he tried to get up.

He sat up when she came into the room but his eyes weren't seeing anything around him, he was still trapped in the nightmare, "Emma!"

"I'm here," she tried to sooth, "It's okay, you're having a nightmare-."

Emma reached out to grab his hand; he'd only had nightmares like this a few times. When she was a child, it'd scared her but she managed to talk him back to sleep. Time to see if she still had what it took to calm him down after a few years of being apart.

"I'm safe," she said and touched his hand, "We're together now, we're a family again-."

He reacted as if she'd somehow burned him. His hand closed around her throat in a vice grip, cutting off her air supply. He was a LOT stronger than what he looked. Emma's eyes grew wide when he stared at her with a face so full of fury that it didn't even look like him. His wide unblinking eyes didn't recognize her either and that terrified her.

Her fingers closed on the bat that she'd brought in with her and she smashed it against his bad hip. Not hard but enough to wake him up and realize that she wasn't a threat.

His grip loosened and Emma scrambled away. Her leg caught the covers that had fallen to the floor and she fell hard on her back.

Her hand closed on the bat that had fallen with her and she tensed, waiting to use it again if she needed to. When no attack came, she struggled to draw in a few breaths and coughed when she drew a complete one.

"Emma?" she heard her father say quietly.

She pulled herself into a sitting position, "Welcome back to the world of the living."

He turned on the lamp, Emma blinked at the sudden blinding light. He saw her clutching her throat and all the blood seemed to drain from his face, "Emma, what did I do?"

"I'm fine," she whispered ad pulled herself up, "You just had a nightmare and you reacted badly when I grabbed your hand, that's all."

He moved to her side and looked shocked at the bruises that were more than likely starting to form. Emma visibly flinched when he went to touch them and he looked at her with a sort of guilt that felt like to crushed her as much as him, "I'm so sorry, Emma. I didn't mean to-"

"I know," she said tensely, "It's fine. I know you were dreaming. I know I've done far worse to you when I was having one of my nightmares. I didn't think the gashes I left on the side of your face would ever heal."

He was shaking. Emma knew that she shouldn't be angry or scared of him because it was just a nightmare but she kept her guard up anyway. Emma wasn't sure but she figured that was what probably happened when your father choked you.

"I'm sorry," he whispered again, he searched her eyes, begging for her forgiveness.

What if David walked in on him having a nightmare when he was older?

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. Hopefully by then, she and David would have their own place and the relationship with her father wouldn't suffer because they were apart. Emma knew that if she asked, he would give her the biggest house he could find with no questions asked but Emma didn't want that. She could pay just the same as everyone else. And her relationship with Rumpelstiltskin was still at a point where it might seem like a betrayal to just take David and leave.

He started to refuse, Emma could tell by his body language but he seemed to contemplate it and he ran a hand through her hair, "I dreamed I lost you again. I dreamed about the day you left…and I kept trying to reach you but I couldn't-."

Emma lowered her eyes. Oh she remembered that day almost perfectly as well. Most of it at least because she was crying so hard that she could barely walk in a straight line.

Emma watched him, 'You know, they tell me not to worry about it because I'm back now but that doesn't exactly erase the damage, does it?"

Rumpelstiltskin stretched his bad leg in front of him, "It feels like your home but it feels like I could lose you again at any time."

Emma drew in a breath, "I saw the world out there, dad. There's nothing in it for me. There's nothing for me to go to…I wasn't happy there. Not really. I thought I was happy, but the life I led…but there wasn't anything out there for me to attach to. Not after Neal anyway."

"Well, what exactly do you have here?" he asked.

"Home," she replied without even considering it, "You-."

"Please Emma," he scoffed.

"I know that you don't think you can be loved but you're wrong," she told him, "And there's mom, and Jefferson and Graham and pissing Regina off…"

He smiled slightly at that. Emma purposefully kept her comatose biological father out of the list because she always knew Rumpelstiltskin was jealous of Charming and the relationship that he and Emma might have one day…as if somehow Emma would forget everything Rumpelstiltskin had done for her.

And _to_ her…she imagined he thought that the bad would outweigh the good.

A tear slipped down Emma's face, "I wanted to come home so many times."

"Why didn't you?" he asked bitterly, "Why didn't you ever let us know that you were safe?"

"Because I'm very stubborn and very prideful," she reminded him through tears, "And sometimes I get scared and I carry grudges…and sometimes I'm very stupid and self-centered and looking at you like this…I'm so sorry that I hurt you this badly-."

"Well you had my flaws to learn," Rumpelstiltskin muttered.

"I learned your strengths too," she told him, "Loyalty for one. Definitely determination…and dad, you taught me how to love-."

He averted his gaze and she knew that he was reminded that he'd only originally adopted her to turn him into a pawn. She tightened her grip on his hand, and before she said the next sentence, she saw his sacrifice in a new light, "You didn't have to love me when you adopted me dad, but you did and you risked making yourself vulnerable so that I could have a father that loved me and I could love back. And I'm sorry that I took all of it and threw it back in your face. I'm sorry I tried to take your chance of seeing your son again and I abandoned my mother and- everyone here. I have a lot I need to make up for."

"You left because I'd betrayed you," he told her.

"It's far too easy to place the blame on you but I left because there was an option to escape and I took it, I made my decision," she told him, "And I have to face up to the fact that it was mine and it hurt more than just me."

"Accepting responsibility," He smiled wryly, "Now there's something I never taught you."

Emma sighed. He was never going to think highly of himself due to the mistakes he made, was he?

"There's no need to hate yourself anymore for what you did," he told her, "I forgave you a long time ago, all you have to do is forgive yourself."

Emma looked at him, "As do you."

He flinched slightly at that, "I've done far too much to ever forgive myself Emma, you know that."

He gave her a quick embrace and struggled to stand. Emma jumped to her feet to assist him.

"You should check on the baby," he told her, "And then get some sleep. It's going to be a long day if you don't get any rest."

Emma stared at him for a couple of seconds. He'd closed the door for the night. Maybe they'd just made some progress, Emma wasn't sure. It didn't feel like they did, but they were talking and accepting responsibility and somehow that felt like things were getting done.

"Goodnight dad," she whispered and walked out the door.

Although she didn't imagine either one of them would get any sleep.

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Emma wore a turtleneck the next day to hide the bruising around her throat. She'd slipped out of the house that morning with David in tow before her father could see her wardrobe choice and feel even worse.

Luckily, her mother was always awake at six in the morning and when she saw that Emma was at her door, she was more than happy to let her in.

David _loved _Mary Margaret. He beamed when she paid attention to him and squealed when she played with him and when her attention was off him, he grew fussy. Visiting with Mary Margaret never ceased to make Emma happy but her baby just made it even better.

"I tried to accept responsibility for what I did last night and he tried to make it sound like it was his fault," Emma said and took a sip of her orange juice, "Like my flaws are because of him."

"Well, he was responsible for you Emma, I think that maybe most parents will look at their children's successes and failures as an extension of their own sometimes and how they contributed."

Emma looked at her mother, "Is he better? Now that I've come home?"

"Oh Emma," Snow said and nodded, "Yes, he's so much better to deal with now that you're home. But how he was when you left…that wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was," Emma muttered and looked at her mother, "I'm so sorry for leaving you like that. You're the only mom I've ever known and-"

Mary Margaret grabbed her hand and gave her a sweet smile, "Emma, there's no need to apologize-."

"I wasn't going to come back," she told her mother guiltily. She knew that she probably shouldn't tell all this to Mary Margaret, but who else was there to tell? "We were going to go to Tallahassee and start a new life-. I mean, I thought I loved Neal. He was…normal and he didn't have a care in the world and he made me laugh, and I forgot about…my past and the future my father planned when I was with him. And unlike…most men here, I actually had a chance with him. And when I did what he wanted, he just left. I guess its karma…I left everyone behind and that's exactly what he did to me."

"Well…maybe you should find him," Mary Margaret said.

"No," Emma refused, "He doesn't know about David and I don't want him to know…I don't want to risk him being around my son and I don't want to face him again after what he did. And I don't want to arrest my father and Jefferson after they got done with him either."

"Jefferson?" Mary Margaret furrowed her brow.

Emma took a bite of her bacon, "He hates Neal so much for what he did that he makes my father's hatred of him pale sometimes.

"Well I can certainly understand why they feel the way they do," Mary said and took a sip of her coffee.

Emma looked up at her, "I've never talked about any of that anyone."

"Perhaps you should," Mary said, "I Mean you just pretty much told me why you don't talk to your father or Mr. March about your baby's father but maybe you should go talk to a professional."

"See a shrink?" Emma asked doubtfully, "Tell Archie all my troubles?'

"Sometimes…it's better to talk to someone not involved."

"If I told Archie everything I knew and had been through, it'd send him running in terror."

"Oh, I don't think so Emma, I think he's a lot stronger than you give him credit for."

"Maybe," Emma said. He was still a little too under Regina's thumb for her liking, "But I don't think he's as strong as that."


	50. Chapter 50

Emma looked at the pages of her notes that were spread out on the large table that took up space in her father's office and looked across the table at him, "I think that most of my notes are correct."

He scanned the notes and Emma found herself looking for his approval a bit. She really shouldn't though, it was a bit odd to look for her father's approval over translating chapters about how to take and restore hearts.

"You did well," he complimented.

"Is it right?"

"Most of it is, I'll make changes when I get home," He told her.

David squealed and tried to slam his little chubby hands against the papers. Emma moved it out of his grip when he tried to knock the papers on the ground. Recently he'd discovered gravity and everything fell on the floor once David put his hands on it.

Emma looked at his father, "You're still gonna stand by me on this, right?"

He sighed and met her eyes. She saw doubt there, and worry. He was going to talk her out of this if he could, "Emma, you're asking me to help you work magic in a land without magic."

"I'm aware."

"If we do this and it's successful, you are asking me to sacrifice about 98 percent of the magic that I have left. Why is this so important to you? Why is saving him so important when you're going to save everyone?"

She tucked some hair behind her ears. She had been asking herself this for a while now. Especially since her father told her how big of a risk that they were taking for results that weren't absolute.

"I have to save everyone," Emma told him slowly, because she was still trying to justify it in her mind, "That's the destiny you created for me. I'll save everyone one day, I don't have a choice. And that's fine….I suppose, but this is now and Graham doesn't have his heart and I can save him."

"No, you think you can save him. That's the difference."

"And saving him does have to be my destiny," she said and bit her lip, "That can be my choice…does that make sense?"

"IN a way I suppose," he said and looked at Emma, "But you need to realize that this could go wrong. This could go really wrong. You could save him…but you could kill him…he may get his memories and he might not…and his personalities may be conflicting and it may make him insane. Jefferson _might _be able to help him if his personalities become conflicted; yes. But other than Graham's connection to you, Jefferson has absolutely no obligation to help him. You're taking a big risk Emma…you need to think about the consequences of what you're about to do before you do it."

Emma nodded, "You think I should let him go heartless and let Regina risk finding it again"

He sighed and looked like he was trying to think of the right thing to say, "I think…that it'd be interesting to conduct this little experiment…I just wish that you'd picked someone less valuable and I could use my magic to try more than once."

Emma watched him. She wondered if everyone but her, her mother, and her son were nothing more than an exciting experiment for him to test on and torment when he wasn't looking for Bae.

"When do you want us to get this done?" he asked.

"I don't know," she muttered, "I'm still trying to talk myself into this."

"Because I'm not doing this unless Jefferson is in the room with us in case he gets violent."

Emma looked up at him, "What if he dies?"

Rumpelstiltskin sighed, "This is going to be a war Emma; people you care about are going to die. Now you know that."

"Should I wait until I'm 28?"

"I think…I can harness enough magic to replicate what its' going to be like when your own magic kicks in…if you want to restore the hearts then we should figure it out how to do it now….I agree and I encourage that you figure it out now…," he said and looked at her, "I just worry about how you'll take it if it goes badly."

Emma sighed, "I need some more time to think about it."

"Take your time," He muttered, "You have ten years after all."

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David was always a pain to feed when it was time to give him peas.

"Come on, David," Emma whispered and waved the spoon in front of his face, "Come on, mommy had to eat this as well when she was a baby and if mommy can eat peas for almost 19 years then you can eat them now."

"Are you honestly doing the airplane thing?" her father asked as he stood at the doorway of the glass room of the sheriff's department.

Emma turned and glared at him, "I'll bet you never did the airplane thing at all."

"No, I treated you like an adult," he said in amusement, "And you turned out intelligent."

"That's because I'm a true love baby," she teased.

"I like to think that it's because I'm your father," he teased back and smiled.

Emma looked at her son. Graham had set up a crib and a high chair and some toys in this part of the sheriff's department for David but Emma only really used the high chair. Her father usually dealt with him when she worked but she honestly enjoyed feeding David. That and rocking him to sleep were her favorite ways to bond with him and her father usually obliged her. And Graham didn't care as long as they weren't working on a case and since they never did, Emma got a lot of time she could spend with David when Leroy wasn't doing something stupid to land him in the slammer.

"He's not going to eat," Emma pouted.

"If you don't get him to eat now, you're not going to bend him to eat what he doesn't like when he's older."

"Yeah, but I can take things away from him when he's older," Emma pouted, "You can't negotiate with a baby."

"God knows you taught me that several times when you were his age," Rumpelstiltskin muttered and walked into the room, "If he's not going to eat then I'll take him home…that flu stuff is going around and I trust me, you don't want him getting that at this age."

Emma nodded and sighed. David tried to grab her hair with his pea smudged fingers and Emma tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder.

Rumpelstiltskin lifted David out of the chair and set him in the stroller. Emma kissed her son and kissed her father on the cheek, "Oh, he won't sleep unless you have that purple bear in the crib now."

Rumpelstiltskin strapped him in the stroller, "I can't believe that he loves that ratty thing."

"He loves everything Jefferson gives him," Emma muttered.

The opening door caught Emma's eye and she smiled when she saw Graham come in with their lunch, "Good news, Leroy was sober enough to get him home but I'm putting a watch on him as he probably won't be that sober for long."

"Well if there's anyone that needs saving, it'd be him," Rumpelstiltskin muttered and put his hand on her shoulder, "See you at home."

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and walked the baby out.

Graham put the food on the table, "What was that all about?"

"Just one of his in-jokes that only he finds humorous," Emma said and opened her take out bag, she spied a small box on top of everything, "There's a piece of cake in here."

"Well it's your birthday."

Emma glanced up…oh that was right…he was still going by the forged paperwork that her father and Jefferson had arranged.

She smiled, "You got me cake?"

"I hope you're not on a diet or something," he stuttered, "Because that would be…awkward-."

Emma opened the box and smiled, oh, he made sure to get her a big piece. She needed that after trying to feed David, "I'm not on a diet."

She put it to the side and pulled out the grilled cheese and fries that he always got her when it was his turn to buy lunch."

Graham pulled out his hamburger, "You know something? You should be proud of how far you've come…from the fifteen year old that was crashing other people's cars into me. I mean, yeah, you ran away and you got in some trouble but you're trying to make amends and you're trying to raise your son in a respectable manner and you're working hard. I mean you don't have to because your father's rich out the nose but you're making your own money to provide for your child …that's something to give yourself credit for. And I'm only saying that because people don't tell you that often."

Emma felt the heat go to her face, "Thank you."

"I just thought you should know."

Emma nodded and looked away awkwardly, "Okay."

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"Mamamamamama."

Rumpelstiltskin took his eye from the Emma's notes sprawled out on the floor and made sure David was safe in the little area of the living room that David had chosen as his crawling grounds. It wasn't so much crawling as it was scooting but he seemed to get around alright.

'Mama' had been his first word. So had Emma's and Rumpelstiltskin still felt offended when she looked right at him and screamed it at the top of her lungs in the town council meeting. He supposed that it made more sense that David said it….even if Emma had gotten excited and awakened him out of a dead sleep that morning to excitedly tell him what David had said.

And now it was the only thing that David said. He crawled around all day saying it. As long as he didn't call Jefferson his father then they'd be fine. There was a cane waiting for Jefferson if David called him that.

"Dad?"

He looked up when he heard his daughter's voice, "In here."

She came in the den and threw her purse in the nearest chair.

"Good news," he told her, "I'm almost done getting this corrected and according to my research into the subject…we probably won't kill Graham but anything else is up in the air."

"Dad," Emma moved the pictures out of the way and knelt beside him, "We need to get Graham's heart stored by the end of the week."

"Why?" he asked and looked at her.

She fidgeted and clenched her hands in her lap, "Um…the Huntsman is a good man, right?"

"Yes, which landed him in trouble," Rumpelstiltskin began assembling the notes. He practically memorized the order they went in without looking at the page numbers.

"D-do you think that he'd make a good father for David?"

Rumpelstiltskin felt the air leave his lungs, but he kept his calm exterior, "That's not a good reason to marry someone Emma. There has to be something more than that and if I remember correctly, you're still having bad dreams from the last relationship you were in."

"Oh, no," Emma shook her head, "No, no, no. Dad, we're not getting into a relationship or anything like that."

He looked at her in confusion; then what was she blathering on about?

"I-I think that…I don't love him yet or anything…I mean, he thinks I just turned 19 when I'm still 18 so there's no way he'd go there yet and I have David to think about but…I…I think there might be a future there…I mean there's a possibly but not for a very long long time," She blushed, like she always did when talking to him about any man besides her old childhood crush, "But if I fall for him…I want it to be for the Huntsman and Graham…because if it happened one day, then that's what I'd be spending eternity with."

He felt his heart sink…he'd just gotten her back and now he might lose her again to some man that she spent most of her childhood worried about because of his unwilling liaison with Regina. He heard her clearly when she said that any romance wouldn't happen for a while but it's not like one could plan when they fell in love. 'long time' could mean next month or next year.

He should stop this now…dig up his heart and tell him to fire Emma and have nothing to do with her. She was the savior, she didn't need to worry about things like boyfriends and possible husbands…he'd always stuck to that belief. She could have one when the battle was over.

But David needed a father…especially when Rumpelstiltskin was his only father figure besides Jefferson.

And Emma needed to be happy. He wanted her to be happy and have a family of her own since he'd never had all of his with him at one time. His trying to change included his promise that he would put her happiness above his own and if looking into just the possibility of finding love with this broken man who was forced into a life he didn't deserve made her happy then he could appease her. He could appease her if she thought that just saving him was enough to help him heal. Rumpelstiltskin never understood why Emma had taken such an interest in wanting to protect this man of all people that Regina had forced to suffer

But she had. And now he was going to have to pull his weight to show her that he was at least willing to make an attempt to help her when it didn't benefit his plans. Seeing her romantically involved with the man who tried to kill her mother once did _not _benefit those plans.

"Well," Rumpelstiltskin said wryly and used his cane and the edge of the chair to pull himself up, "At least it's not Jefferson."


	51. Chapter 51

"You do realize that no matter what happens, this changes everything?" Jefferson muttered as he paced back and forth in his living room.

"I know," Emma muttered and rubbed her eyes.

"Well for _him _at least," Rumpelstiltskin muttered from his chair.

Emma shot him a glare, "_Dad_."

Rumpelstiltskin gave a shrug, "Am I lying? His life will change. He won't die from what I understand; but either he remembers or he goes insane because of the duel memories. Either way, nothing will ever be the same for him again but we'll go home and I'll be the Dark one who raised you and you'll be the savior and we'll have one over on Regina. Other than another possible ally, nothing changes for us unless you do act on your hypothetical future feelings for the Huntsman."

Jefferson's eyes widened and he looked at Emma with a teasing grin, "So our Ms. Swan has a new man in her life?"

Emma blushed and looked down at David who was stroking Jefferson's fuzzy floor rug as if it was the most fascinating thing on earth.

"It's just a possibility," she muttered.

"No wonder you're in such a hurry to get his memories back."

"Well if I don't and I act on these feelings that I have for the fake personality that Regina gave him, then how am I better than her?"

Jefferson furrowed his eyebrows and Emma averted her gaze again, "Sorry, I Know you were teasing."

Jefferson smirked as clearly he was singing a song in his head about how she and Graham were sitting in a tree.

"You're better than Regina because you're not holding his life in his hands and will kill him if he doesn't do what you want," Rumpelstiltskin told her.

"But I know what's going on and he doesn't and so if we act on any feelings with another man's memory in another man's body then yes, I am no better than her."

They heard the doorbell ring, Rumpelstiltskin immediately stood, "Get the baby."

David gave a cry of despair when Emma lifted him up but he stopped when Jefferson gave the boy a smile and handed him a stuffed toy that was more than likely Grace's to appease him.

Rumpelstiltskin led Emma to the room down the hall where they would wait until Jefferson did his job. Jefferson had broken his own window an hour ago and called the sheriff. They had agreed to do this in his house because of its isolation. They could deal with whatever after effects happened.

Emma leaned against the table and looked at the glass display that held the hats that Jefferson still made in an attempt to get home. At least that's what he claimed. Emma knew that he knew there was no chance until she got her magic. But he liked to pretend that he might be able to harness some magic because not only did it give him something to do, it gave him some hope and he needed that more than anyone else.

Rumpelstiltskin had her and she had him and David and Jefferson. What did Jefferson have? Her when she could spare time to be with him. David as well when Emma was there but Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't care if something happened to him and no one else had much to do with him either since he barely went into town.

The door was slightly open, it could never close right. David gave a wet kiss to the stuffed rabbit, giggled and hid his face against his mother's shoulder. Emma shushed him a bit and rubbed her son's back.

Her father put a hand on her shoulder, "You're fidgeting."

"No I'm not," she lied.

"You have doubts," he noted.

"Of course I have doubts but it's not like you care, you look at this like a test run for future people we're going to do this to," she snapped.

"And this surprised you?" Rumpelstiltskin whispered, "I Know that you're doing this to save him but I look at it as a chance to save everyone."

"Don't act like you care about any of those people in there," she said, "I know you just care because you want the knowledge."

He shrugged, "Perhaps I should've been less myself when I raised you. Lying might've been simpler now."

"I'm sorry for leading you out here, sheriff, but the kids like to come up here when they hear that it's haunted…the rotten vandals," Jefferson said loudly to announce to them where they were

Rumpelstiltskin moved to shut the door a bit better but open enough so that they could see out. Emma placed David in the playpen that Jefferson had built for when Emma came up to visit, and moved to stand by her father.

"I honestly don't know anyone who could've done this," Graham said, "But you have my word that I will look into it and I'll find whose responsible.'

There was a clinking of teacups. Emma moved to grab the satchel that she'd dug up earlier that held Graham's heart.

"What are your plans with Emma?" Jefferson demanded.

Emma nearly dropped the bag at that. Rumpelstiltskin looked up sharply and shot glares through the door as if Jefferson could feel it.

"I…," Graham seemed as flustered as they did, "I don't think that's your business."

"She fell in love with the man that abandoned her to the police when he got what he wanted, you better believe it's my business."

"And what do you think you are, her brother?"

"No," he said in disgust, "Nothing like that. Just something different."

"It's still not your business."

"But you think there's a possibility of something."

"It's not your bu-." He stopped and Rumpelstiltskin looked relieved.

"Is something wrong?" Jefferson asked, oh he was such a bad liar.

"What did you do?" Graham slurred and they heard a crash.

Rumpelstiltskin opened the door and Emma followed. When they were in the room, Emma moved around her father and headed right to Jefferson.

"Geez Emma, your sheriff weighs a ton, where does he pack it? What, did you forget to lock the burritos away when he hired you?"

Emma shoved him as hard as he could, "What was that?!"

Jefferson looked confused, "What was what?"

"I believe she was referring to the questions you were asking about any future between the sheriff and herself," Rumpelstiltskin said. He seemed annoyed but there was a bit hint of amusement in his voice. Was there a part of him that was enjoying this?

Jefferson looked confused, as if he didn't know what he did wrong, "Part of the reason as to why you want to save him is because you think you might have a future with him, right?"

"Yes," Emma said slowly.

"I asked and he confirmed that he cares. He may have tried to pretend that it wasn't my business but I saw it on his face. He cares about you. AT least the Graham side of him…and if we don't get going now then you won't find out tonight so can we do this?"

He grabbed Graham's shoulders and Emma grabbed his legs. They hauled him on the coffee table. Rumpelstiltskin pulled out the box containing the heard and the small flask full of the purple goo that he said was the magic.

Emma untied his tie and…forced herself to unbutton his vest and then his shirt far enough to expose the bare area where his heart was supposed to be placed.

Jefferson smirked knowingly. Emma blushed a bit when her father grabbed her shoulder and moved her back.

"Get ready to hold him down," Rumpelstiltskin told Jefferson and sprinkled some of the goo on his hand and then on Graham's chest, "He's going to react no matter what."

Emma instinctively drew closer to Graham as well.

Rumpelstiltskin took out the heart with the hand he poured magic on and met his daughter's eyes, "Here we go."

The heart slid into his chest as if there weren't…ribs and a sternum and muscle and tissue in the way. It made no sound but it made Emma nearly lose her lunch as she watched the first real experience of her father using magic.

He slid his hand out and a second passed.

Graham's eyes shot open and he arched his back and gasped for air. He contorted his whole body and screamed. Emma forgot about her father's warning to stay back when she saw his terrified agonized eyes and she rushed forward, "Graham, its okay."

"Emma, no!" her father yelled.

Emma grabbed his hand and Graham reacted blindly. He shoved her as hard as he could and she fell against the bookshelf. Emma felt books pour down on her and she raised her hands to protect her head.

Jefferson said a few words unfit for most ears and flew at Graham. He lifted him by the shirt and then slammed him back down as hard as he could, "That's enough!"

Rumpelstiltskin knelt by his daughter and pushed some of her hair out of her face, "Emma…"

"I'm fine."

"You're bleeding," he whispered.

"She alright?" Jefferson demanded.

"I'm fine," Emma said.

"She's bleeding," Rumpelstiltskin repeated and the look that both he and Jefferson shot Graham made ice look warm.

Emma forced herself to her feet and put her and on her father's shoulder to steady herself, "Graham?"

He forced himself to sit up and looked at her in confusion, "No…not Graham...I- I remember."

Rumpelstiltskin smiled wickedly. Jefferson looked unsure. Emma felt the air being driven from her lungs and she found that she…honestly couldn't think.

"I'm the Huntsman."


	52. Chapter 52

Emma was only vaguely aware of the blood coming down the side of her face as she stared at Graham's eyes…No…Graham was in there somewhere but this wasn't him…it was the Huntsman and the way he looked at them and the haunted look he carried was entirely different.

Everyone was quiet, it occurred to Emma at that second that maybe no one said anything because they didn't think they would get this far. Perhaps she was the only one who thought they'd be successful.

Now that was unsettling.

Emma forced herself to a standing position and ignored the dizziness. She was pretty sure the large dictionary Jefferson had displayed had slammed against her forehead but she couldn't be sure.

The Huntsman holding his chest when she came in front of him. He tensed when she moved closer and that was her first hint that he definitely remembered Regina turning him into her little…oh, she didn't want to think about it, "Do you know who I am?"

He looked confused and then grabbed his head in pain. Jefferson moved next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Relax."

"What's happened to me?" The Huntsman demanded.

"We were all under a curse. We had different personalities and memories and we found out a way to wake you up. We restored your heart to you and your memories are back but you will have Graham's personality and memories with you for the rest of your life. It's going to be hard, trust me. Sometimes it'll feel like you have two conflicting decisions that you think are the right ones. Decisions will be harder that way. And sometimes the memories will bleed together and you won't remember which one happened and which one didn't. You won't know which voice is yours sometimes and which one's is your alter ego. You'll feel like you're going insane. And so separating the two is usually a pain but you'll learn."

Emma watched Jefferson as he said that. Was that honestly what he went through? He never really talked about his struggle and Emma had known it was something that she never ask about.

"So Regina's plan was successful," the Huntsman muttered.

Emma looked at her stoic father. Yeah, _Regina's _plan alright.

"Yes," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"And she's still in power?"

"For a few more years at least," Rumpelstiltskin said with a smirk.

The Huntsman's eyes darkened and he looked at all three of them, "Does she know about this?"

"No," Rumpelstiltskin said, "She just thinks that we have your heart and we've hidden it. It wouldn't occur to her in million years that we restored it back to you."

The Huntsman's eyes fell to her and he looked like he was struggling with the duel personalities in his head, finally he eyed her warily, "Your name is Emma."

Emma smiled, "Yes."

He hesitated again, and looked like he was trying to remember, "You're the only that that's aged in this town…"

She nodded, "You saved my parent's lives."

Rumpelstiltskin tensed at Emma referring to Charming as her parent but said nothing.

Recognition dawned on him, "You're the daughter of Charming and Snow?"

That really unsettled Rumpelstiltskin. Jefferson didn't bother to hide his smirk though.

When Emma didn't reply, the Huntsman moved her hair so that he could examine the gash that was now opened on her forehead. His hard gaze softened for a bit, "Forgive me. I lashed out."

"Obviously," Jefferson said tensely

"It's fine," she pulled away slightly, "We should…talk about what we need to do next."

Jefferson and her father waited, the Huntsman seemed unsure since he didn't know her. Emma thought through her options, Jefferson and her dad did say that they would support any decision she made since this was a test for her leadership skills as much as it was in seeing how heart restoration worked.

Regina couldn't find out about the Huntsman. At least not yet. And the townspeople didn't need the Huntsman as a sheriff; they needed Graham for a while longer. Luckily, they had someone with experience here who could help, "Jefferson, we need you to help the Huntsman adjust. We'll spend the next couple of days trying to get him caught up on everything he needs to know about the old land and this one and you'll teach him how to merge both personalities as best as both of you can so that no one knows the difference."

"Except people are going to notice the sheriff being missing," Jefferson told her

"Vacation," Emma lied. "Took to the woods for some quiet time since he has a deputy now and its winter so things are going to be a lot quieter. No one will question it and since Regina doesn't…Regina won't notice either."

The Huntsman's eyes darkened again, "She forced me to-."

"We know," Emma said gently.

"And over here as well. She forced my memories to be false so that I would comply."

"And we stopped it," Emma said, she almost reached for his hand but she realized what a bad idea that might be before she made contact. "We'll stay here tonight too, my father and I."

The Huntsman looked confused again, and then he realized who Rumpelstiltskin was and he scooted back, "You-."

He nodded to Emma, "She's adopted."

"And what's your price for bringing me back?" he demanded.

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged, "You'll owe me a favor."

Emma looked over her shoulder and gave him a glare. He sighed when he realized that he wasn't going to get out of this one being vague, "I expect you to protect my daughter as the Hatter over there does and perhaps we can call it even."

Another glare.

"We'll definitely call it even," he sighed. He honestly hated trying to conduct deals with Emma around because she knew all the ways he tried to give himself loopholes and she wasn't afraid to call him on it, "Emma, we have to see to your injury, come with me."

"I'm fine."

"It's a deep cut," Jefferson told her, "Go, I'll explain what's going on a bit better to your Huntsman."

The Huntsman seemed disturbed by that, "I'm not _her _Huntsman."

Jefferson smirked and shot a knowing look at Emma who went to her waiting father faster, "Of course you're not."

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"Jefferson wasn't kidding when he said it was a deep cut," Rumpelstiltskin told her as he stitched the wound closed, "We should've brought you back here as soon as it happened."

Emma winced at the feeling of the skin being pulled closed.

Her father studied her face and then continued, "What do you think about him?"

Emma didn't answer him at first. She truly didn't know. He didn't die and he didn't go insane, that was a start. He didn't seem to hate her and he wasn't…too aggressive. He just wasn't Graham, and she didn't expect him to be…but the eyes of the man she grew up with didn't recognize her anymore…and for some reason that hurt her even though she knew that she had done the right thing in bringing him back.

"I don't know," she whispered, "He's just different."

"Well, he's gone through a lot, he'll need time to get through it all," her father tilted her head down and to he left so that he could get a better look at his work, "He's going to need you now more than ever to help him get through what Regina did to him and recovering enough to look toward the future, your duty in saving him isn't completely over yet."

"Do you think I can help him?"

"I do."

"What makes you so sure?"

He stopped, smiled and rested a hand on the side of her face, "Because you saved me."

There were days when Emma doubted that statement but she knew that he was a lot less vindictive because he was attempting to be better for her, it was still a heartwarming compliment and she grabbed her father's hand and kissed the back of it affectionately.

"And if you find that you don't want a future with him," her father told her, "No one's going to think less of you for it, because at the end of the day you saved his life."

Emma smiled slightly at him, "I suspect I'll need to know his name."

"He doesn't have one," her father told her, "Well the wolves he was raised by gave him one but it's not really pronounceable or translatable and he never cared enough about humans to give himself one of our names."

Emma watched him, "Do you feel as odd saying that as it is for me to hear that?"

"Honestly? Yes."

Emma smiled. The door opened and Jefferson walked through with a folded dark purple shirt, and handed it to her, "You ruined your shirt so….you can borrow this one. And you'll find shampoo and soap in the guest bathroom"

Emma accepted it while their father put a bandage over the stitches, "Thank you."

Rumpelstiltskin scowled, he was clearly not a fan of imagining his daughter walking around in one of Jefferson's shirts.

"Where's the baby?" Jefferson asked immediately.

"Asleep," Emma told him, "He's fine."

"I would've thought the fighting over in the other room would've awakened him."

Emma smiled, "David would sleep through a bomb going off."

"How is he?"

"Still pretty confused and still struggling to deal with the Graham persona fighting to dominate his. I suspect I can help him deal with two voices in his head telling his body what to do but it'll be up to you to make sure he maintains which personality is present at which time."

"Would I get a dirty look if I said that sounded easy enough?" she asked.

"More than likely," he told her, "Anyway, I answered his questions as best I could and put him in one of the guest rooms. Hopefully he listens to the Graham memories and doesn't play with the lights and water and runs my bill up.'

"Jefferson!" Emma scolded.

"I'm not much a fan of having a man here that I don't know and who shoved you into a bookshelf."

"It was an accident; he was dealing with a lot at the moment."

"Do you know that for sure? You don't know who exactly you're dealing with."

"I know precisely what kind of a person I'm dealing with-."

"Because a book says so," Jefferson practically sneered.

"Because if he was vicious or violent in any way that could endanger myself of the baby, then do you think my dad would've been as on board with restoring his heart as he was?"

"Children, please," Rumpelstiltskin said in exasperation, "It's been an incredibly long evening, perhaps we should all just go to bed."

Jefferson looked offended at being told to go to bed in his own house but he didn't argue, "I suspect we all have a long day tomorrow."

"Indeed," Rumpelstiltskin said, "Emma, why don't you go ahead and take a shower, I imagine you'll want to wash the blood out of your hair and so you'll be taking up the most hot water."

She didn't argue, a warm shower did sound like it would feel good after the shove she'd taken. And she got the feeling that they wanted to talk so she took her sleeping son and slipped out of the room.

The door which had never shut right now shut completely behind her, blocking off what she would be able to hear.

She was walking down the guest hallway when the door opened and the Huntsman looked out confused, "What was that?"

"Just them," she muttered.

He was watching her. Emma met his eyes and felt uncomfortable under the different gaze and she wasn't entirely sure what emotions she was looking at.

They maintained their eye contact for several seconds. Emma wasn't sure why but she wasn't about to look away until he did.

David fussed in her arms and ruined a bit of the magic. Both immediately looked away and she saw to her son, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he whispered back and went to his room.

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"Are we even going to be able to leave?" Jefferson asked as the door shut.

"Something's wrong," Rumpelstiltskin said and gripped the cane tightly.

"Yeah, I noticed him clutching his chest sometimes," Jefferson muttered. He'd seen Rumpelstiltskin take a few hearts when they ran together in his youth. It was his usual collateral until a debt was paid and Jefferson had seen the hearts be restored and they never held their chests and they were never in as much pain as Graham was when his heart was given back.

And they never threw others into bookshelves either but that was beside the point.

"Magic is unpredictable here," Rumpelstiltskin muttered, "I barely had enough to get that heart back in him. Perhaps both of those are the reason."

"Could it be the wrong heart?" Jefferson asked and then shook his head, "But he wouldn't get his memories back-."

"Yes he would have," Rumpelstiltskin muttered, "At least Gerhardt did when Victor brought him back to life."

"Yeah, but he was dead," Jefferson reminded him.

"And for all intents and purposes, the Huntsman personality was as well. We've never dealt with something like this, he could very well have another man's heart or he could just be recovering from having magic in al and without magic, I don't know."

"If it's the former, can you fix it?"

"I used pretty much all my magic to put that heart into Graham," he told him, "That heart is in there to stay."

Jefferson grabbed his coat, "We need to tell Emma."

"Not yet."

"Not yet?" Jefferson demanded angrily, "She thinks she won and she might not have!"

"I'm not going to break my daughter's heart over something that I'm not confidant of myself," Rumpelstiltskin said, "We don't tell her unless we're absolutely sure."


	53. Chapter 53

Emma had spent countless hours in this house and yet she didn't feel comfortable enough to fall asleep immediately. She didn't know if it was because she was in a different room or because her head was throbbing.

And then about three in the morning, David woke up. He crawled over to her on the bed and slammed his hand on her shoulder over and over again, "Mama! Mama! Mamamamama."

She pulled her son on her chest and kissed his cheek. He squealed and gave her another childlike open palmed smack in the face. Emma grabbed his hands and put them down, "No David."

He gave her a sloppy openmouthed kiss on her chin. Emma cringed and wiped the drool from her face and stood up with the baby, "I'm thirsty, are you thirsty? Let's get some milk together."

She rubbed her son's back and walked to the kitchen. Jefferson wouldn't mind if she did that, he always encouraged her to have lunch or dinner with him while she was there. He kept things for the baby for when Emma trained. She fixed herself and the baby some warm milk.

"You going to share?"

Emma looked to Jefferson tiredly and slid a cup his way. He seemed as tired as she did, but she knew that he wasn't going to sleep a stranger in the house.

"Probably not a good idea I go to sleep with a concussion anyway," Emma muttered and filled his cup.

His gaze darkened, "Probably not."

"Don't be angry at him," Emma scolded, "It was an accident."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like him anymore."

Emma sat on the stool, "Is this going to be a problem?"

David slammed his hands against the high chair. Jefferson smiled gently at the boy and brushed a hand through his hair, "No. I promise to behave and help him but only because I know how he feels right about now and it sucked when I didn't have anyone to help through the process."

"How come you hate him so much?" Emma asked. It couldn't be because he'd manhandled her. How many other times had Jefferson done it when they were practicing?

"In case you haven't noticed Emma, I'm not much of a fan of anyone in this town that isn't my daughter, you, or David. I suppose you get to see that up close now."

Emma scowled at him, none of the men in her life were going to be decent and compassionate were they? "Just be nice, okay? He has a lot to process and a lot he went through as well. I think you can identify with the physical and emotional scars that Regina left. Perhaps you can bond. You need more friendships than one with an almost 19 year old girl, a boy almost one and a grudging one with a 300 year old imp turned human again."

Jefferson scowled back, "I'm happy with what I have; besides I'm not going to agree to be friends with a man that I don't know."

"Okay," Emma whispered and fiddled with her half empty cup.

They settled into silence before Emma sighed and rubbed her eyes, "We have a really long way to go, don't we?"

Before they settled into a comfortable silence that took the better part of an hour, Jefferson took a thoughtful look at her and then down the hall where the Huntsman and Rumpelstiltskin more than likely weren't' sleeping either. "Yes, we do."

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Emma was used to going to work without really sleeping the night before. She didn't like it, but it came with the territory when one had a kid. She could take catnaps here and there and she would endure the day since everything ran like clockwork in this town. It was winter, so her only clients would usually be Leroy and Ms. Ginger complaining about Pongo. Who could hate Pongo anyway? He was a giant baby.

But with winter also came the Miners Day festival which meant lots of meetings about budget and Graham was usually required to sit in but since he was otherwise occupied, Emma had to handle it.

And boy, Emma was certain that everyone else at this boring meeting was sleeping with their eyes open. The only way Emma couldn't get away with it was because Regina glared at her every time she moved. Such was the struggle of being the savior she supposed.

"I think everything is going to be amazing," Ms. Ginger said but her voice didn't really indicate that, "I think it'll be the best Miner's Day we've ever had.

It was exactly the SAME Miner's day they always had, but Emma said nothing because Regina was watching her.

"Ms. Swan," Regina said with a sneer. Emma tensed. She was in the process of getting her name changed back to her father's false surname but Regina never hesitated to use it and with one word, remind Emma of her past, "What can we expect of security?"

Emma shrugged, "Guess it's just Graham and I and the honest citizens that we rely on."

"And where is the sheriff today?" Regina demanded.

"He was feeling under the weather a bit and so I told him to go on a vacation and I could handle things here."

Regina narrowed her eyes. Emma made a note to herself to bring Graham down as soon as she was sure he was comfortable enough not to freak out about Regina and what she did.

"The sheriff is never sick," Regina sniffed.

The lie came easily, "I caught something and gave it to him."

Regina sneered, "Oh, I imagine you did."

Emma tensed and dug her hands into the table. Everyone watched her for her reaction. They didn't bother to hide the knowledge that they were aware Regina's not so subtle remark was a barb about her past.

"Well Madame Mayor with everywhere you've been, I'm surprised you haven't given the sheriff anything he would have a hard time recovering from," Emma smirked. Everyone immediately turned to Regina to see her retort but thankfully it was interrupted when Emma's beeper went off.

It was her father's number.

"Excuse me," Emma said and stood. Everyone looked disappointed as she left the room.

She climbed into the yellow bug and turned the ignition.

Leaving the Huntsman with Jefferson and her father to be taught and trained, what was she thinking? It was like a ticking time bomb leaving three emotionally and mentally unstable men to watch each other and whom none really cared for the other two.

She was almost scared to think of what she could find there

Thank God she had the foresight to leave David with Mary Margaret today.

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Luckily the house wasn't on fire or destroyed by the time Emma got to the house, and so those things were two off the list that she'd mentally created when trying not to break laws speeding up there. In fact, things didn't seem that bad at all. When she got inside, she found her father sitting casually on the couch, drinking some tea.

"Hello Emma," he smirked.

Emma sighed and leaned on the doorframe, "As much as I thank you for pulling me out of that snooze fest of a meeting, it's sort of my job that I attend. Why did you call me?"

"Jefferson and the Huntsman had a fight"

"You called me all the way up here because they had a spat?" she muttered.

"Well, the Huntsman asked for you. He wanted to go home but Jefferson said that you wanted him to stay up here and learn. The Huntsman got angry because you know how much of a loner he is and how taking orders from someone went for him last time and he stormed away and Jefferson insulted him for attacking you and told him that he owed you a large debt for restoring his memories and so he was to do what you said. And then Jefferson took off his shoe and threw it at the Huntsman and they got into a bit of a tussle."

"What were you doing during all this?"

"Watching," he replied, "It was quite hilarious."

Emma groaned. There was a part of her that wanted to know who had won but she didn't press it, "Where are they?"

"Well, Jefferson probably went off to pout and put ice on his head and the Huntsman is practicing throwing knives in the back. I don't know how he'll do that, I'm pretty certain that Jefferson blackened at least one of his eyes. So in a sense, you should be happy, you have two men fighting over you."

"And neither one of them like me in a way that a normal girl would want them to fight over her," Emma muttered and pulled out her keys, "Since neither one of you are inclined to help like I was hoping you'd be, I'm going to take Graham home."

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"No," Emma muttered, "But maybe I can reach him better than what either one of you are doing."

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Emma watched the Huntsman as he gripped the steering wheel, "It's going to be fine Huntsman, just calm down-."

"Please don't tell me to calm down;" he said tiredly, "I'm in a world that I don't recognize."

"I understand," she said gently, "But you also have the memories to help you through it."

"They're not my memories," the Huntsman said.

"I know," she said and reached for his shoulder. He cringed and she drew her hand away as if she'd been burned, "But you can still use them. You need them and I can…I can at least try to help you work through them."

"I thought that's what your Master of the Hat was for."

Yeah, and look at how well that'd went," Emma muttered and looked at him, Jefferson would teach him how to repress and obliterate the false personality if he could. But The Huntsman had a larger responsibility; he didn't have the same privilege as Jefferson did in which he could hide on a hill and shove the false memories to the back of his mind. The Huntsman had a contribution to this society and people to take care of as his Graham self and he needed to learn how to adjust to that as soon as possible or Regina would know, "Just take a few minutes to collect yourself. You know how to do this. You just need to let in enough memories so that you can."

He looked at her and she nodded. She'd taken a big risk by getting in the car with him while he was struggling with the adjustment. Any number of things could go wrong on the lonely road that went back to town. Emma imagined as soon as they were out of sight, her father and Jefferson would be following but Emma wanted to show the Huntsman that she trusted him enough to let him use technology that only his previous personality had used.

Graham drew a breath and focused on the wheel. Finally after a few seconds passed, he turned the ignition, drove to the small exit and entrance that Jefferson had sat up and slowly drove down the road.

It was a start.

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Seeing Regina was a different story.

By the time they'd gotten into town, the meeting was just letting out. Emma didn't want to even ask what had taken so long. How rowdy could a few booths be? Especially when they were the same every year?

Regina saw them driving by and glowered at them. The Huntsman looked both startled and enraged and Emma realized that this could escalate very quickly if she didn't get a handle on it now, "Keep driving."

"After what she did to me?!" he demanded and reached for the gun.

Emma grabbed it before he could touch it and threw it on the floorboard of her side, "Don't do that. You'll regret it."

"I've murdered before."

"In self-defense and survival!" she pleaded. At least that was what the book said, "But not in cold blood."

"Which is what landed me in that mess," he practically snarled.

"If you kill her, the curse breaks."

"Is that a bad thing?" The Huntsman demanded

"The curse isn't designed to break until I'm 28," Emma pleaded, "Which means that you will more than likely fail if you kill her and you'll either be locked up or sent over the border and you won't survive that. I didn't wake you up for you to throw it all away again. Regina can't know."

"And why did you wake me up?" he demanded, "Was it love?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she said.

"Because you're…lawman thought very highly of you and I've seen the way you were beginning to look at him-."

"I restored your memories because we had your heart and Regina was looking for a way to get it back," she said quickly and he looked at her like he didn't believe her, he raised an eyebrow and she was almost certain she saw the look that Graham shot her when he was trying to flirt. He was still in there somewhere, and Emma was trying to hold onto that. Maybe for her own personal wishes, she didn't know.

Maybe Emma had brought him back for selfish reasons. She liked to tell herself that it was because they needed to give him his heart back and he had saved her parents and rescuing the Huntsman was a good investment for her family's safety and future. Maybe the Huntsman was right, maybe the only reason she brought him there because she loved Graham.

Then why did she take steps to bring the Huntsman back if that was the case? Thereby almost erasing Graham's personality? Could it be that subconsciously, she cared about Graham but brought the Huntsman in to protect herself from getting hurt again?

What was the real reason she did this? Any of those? A combination? Was it selfish that she brought him back, no matter the intent? Or did it only matter that she saved his life?

"Ms. Swan," Regina sneered and kneeled down to look at the Huntsman who froze completely and didn't look at her. She saw him pale and he clenched his hands on the wheel, "Sheriff…I see you weren't feeling so bad after all."

Emma watched him tensely but thank God, he didn't say anything. He didn't even look up.

"It's your job to attend these meetings, sheriff. Not sending your…inexperienced deputy to fill in for you. Remember that I can take your job faster than I gave it to you and leave you with-."

Emma rolled up the window, cutting her off. Regina blinked in shock and looked like a fish with her mouth hanging open like that. Graham pressed on the gas and took off down the street. He pulled around the corner and put the brake on.

He started shaking. Emma felt her heart break when she saw him put his head against the steering wheel.

Emma curled her feet under her and tried to figure out what she should do. With her father or Jefferson, she could always talk to them or grab their hand in a way to comfort them but the Huntsman had been emotionally, physically and sexually abused by Regina for years. Emma wasn't sure how to comfort someone from that.

Perhaps she had made a huge mistake making him remember. Maybe there were some people that were better off forgetting.

"I'm sorry," she whispered tearfully, "I'm so sorry."

She could only sit there with him while he had his breakdown.


	54. Chapter 54

Emma could barely remember a time when her father had taken her to the Miner's Day festival. He'd told her that he had. And she had faint memories of being there but when she got older, he had refused. Apparently no one wanted the town landlord there, no matter how much she cried and begged and demanded to know why he put up with the nuns if he hated them so much; he had always refused to go.

But now Emma was an adult with a child of her own and she had the freedom to go whenever she wanted.

It WAS her job to watch over things after all.

"Look," her father said while Emma forced a visibly annoyed David into about eight layers of clothes to keep him warm for tonight, "Just keep him home…he's not even old enough to remember this."

"Everyone's always nagging me to see the baby and now they're going to see him."

"I'll watch him…you shouldn't have to lug him around while you're trying to work."

"You watch him most of the days I am working," Emma lifted him up and blew a raspberry on his face to get him to drop the scowl, "I can watch him tonight, it'll be fun...good mother and son bonding time."

"While you work," he reminded her.

"Oh stop," she scolded lightly, "The Huntsman won't care."

It'd been a slow month since they'd began working with the Huntsman to help him cope with the changes and it hadn't lessened any of Emma's feelings of guilt that she brought him back too soon. He was an insomniac now. He took the night shifts so that she could spend the evening with her family. At least that's what he claimed. Emma knew the truth as soon as the first week when he fell asleep on the couch in the office and had a violent nightmare. Emma had only awakened him by throwing water on him and that nearly didn't end well when she locked herself in the jail cell after he got up and came at her.

He'd done better after that initial encounter; Emma nudged him with a bat to wake him up. She never told her father or Jefferson about it. Her father would remove her from 'adjustment duty' and Jefferson had made it clear that he would handle Graham if Emma ever got hurt again.

But as the month crept by, they took it one day at a time. Graham was beginning to trust her a little bit more after he realized she had no second agenda and other than the whole nightmare thing, Emma felt comfortable working with him. He had found a comfortable…deal with his Storybrooke self which he didn't always like but he managed to use to survive.

He still refused to be anywhere near Regina by himself. Not that that was a bad thing. No one wanted to be by Regina by themselves. Well…Sidney did but he had issues before the curse.

But she told her father the truth. The Huntsman wouldn't care because some days it felt like Emma was the one running the station. The Huntsman was doing a lot better now but he still had his bad days in which Emma had to cover for him.

"What if you get a call and you're toting around the baby on your hip?"

"I won't get a call," Emma told him, "It never happens. I went back and read the records just to be sure. And if something does happen then Mary Margaret will be there."

"Yes, operating the candle booth," he practically spat.

"For heaven's sake dad, they're not all lit up!" she kissed him on the cheek, "Now if you're just worried about being lonely than you could come with us."

"Unthinkable," he hissed in such a way that one would've assumed Emma suggested he go back to the realms and make up with Hook for running off with his first wife.

"Unthinkable to enjoy yourself?"

"Yes, enjoying myself with the people I've manipulated to bring us here sounds like a fun time."

Emma sighed, he just didn't want to support the nuns for something that was his fault anyway, "Alright dad, stay here and pout."

"Perhaps I'll go to Jefferson's and watch one of this world's games."

Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes, there was a better chance of them grabbing the cello he had and piano and forming a duet. Ever since they'd both witnessed Graham shove her into that bookshelf and try to deal with Graham, the two had formed some sort of unspoken friendship and agreed with each other more than they ever had and Emma didn't like it. It was weird. If they did so anymore, Emma was certain the curse would break just in time for the universe to collapse on itself because Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin getting along at this point of time was just breaking the laws of nature, "Do what you want. I'm already running late."

"If he gets angry then just call me."

"Dad, you're getting a night to yourself," Emma called over her shoulder, "I suggest you enjoy it."

"Yes," he muttered when she was gone, "Because the nightlife here is so active."

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Emma held her son in one arm and the cotton candy in the other as she and the Huntsman walked around the booths.

"Perhaps we should do security things," the Huntsman told her.

"Well I hope you tell me what those are," she replied, "I haven't been your deputy long enough to know what we're supposed to do other than enjoy ourselves and don't let anyone enjoy themselves too much."

She tore a small piece of cotton candy from the plastic cone and gave it to David. He instinctively opened his mouth to take it and when it began to melt, he made a sour face and rubbed his mouth against her shirt.

Even Graham smiled warmly at her son's reaction, "Is he walking yet?"

"Trying to," Emma readjusted him in her arms, "Giving his grandfather fits when he tries to navigate around the store.

Other than that though, her father loved his grandson. He absolutely adored him. Several times Emma had found them in the basement, and much like her when she was his age, Rumpelstiltskin had him in his lap while he spun. He never saw her watching but sometimes she'd listen from the shadows while her father told David stories and taught him about the wheel. He was far too young to understand but that didn't discourage Rumpelstiltskin. He had done it with her and he had done it with Baelfire.

Perhaps one day he would have other grandchildren to teach.

But not for a long long long long LONG time.

Emma and Graham came upon a firing booth where you had to shoot the moving wolves. Emma would've preferred shooting little ducks, but it had to do with something of Storybrooke's fake past where the miners wiped out the wolves that were eating people and livestock or something. It was some myth that Emma had been forced to learn in school. When she told her father about it as a child, he had just gave her that half smile that was so secretive and told her wolves had never lived in Storybrooke. Well, not the literal kind anyway.

She hadn't understood all the layers of that denial until she was older.

"Sheriff Graham and Deputy Gold," Ms. Ginger greeted, "Looking like a…family unit almost…."

Figures she would be running the shooting booth. Emma had been looking forward to that, what a shame.

"Care to shoot?" she asked, "It's for a good cause, you know."

Emma really didn't want to deal with the gossip queen, no matter how tempting it was to shoot a rifle; rigged and fake or not, "I don't think so."

"Come on deputy, I imagine you don't get to shoot your gun much, you might want to keep in practice if the sheriff won't."

Graham had a reputation for disliking guns. Oh he thought that they could be necessary sometimes but he didn't have to like it. The Huntsman on the other hand preferred bows and arrows. Emma had gone out there in the woods with him and practiced twice. She kept her crossbow that she had built under her father's instruction for events such as that.

She preferred it to a gun too. Thing was a pain to reload though.

Ms. Ginger stared her down and so Emma felt like her barb was a challenge. She looked at the Huntsman and then looked at her son. The Huntsman had his problems but he never hurt anyone when he was fully conscious…and he would never hurt a baby, "Graham? Hold my son."

"I don't- what?" He looked at David and looked like he'd rather run the opposite way.

She looked at him and drew a shaky breath, "No, I trust you."

She was taking the step. She was showing him trust by giving him the most important person in her life.

And he seemed to realize it too because since he'd been the Huntsman, Emma had been uncomfortable letting David in the sheriff's office.

He also seemed to realize that if he argued with her then he might call into question his own false identity. Reluctantly he took David and with some gentle pushing from Emma, held the boy against his chest.

She hit four out of six targets. Which wasn't too bad because the kick was all off and it nearly threw her shoulder out. They needed new fake guns; Emma should request that for next year.

She got a bobble head of Marilyn Monroe. Oh well, it wasn't too horrifying. She'd give it to her father to put in the pawn shop. He could put it between those two creepy puppets that always made her cry when she was a little girl.

They STILL made her cry; she wished he'd never taken them back out of the box he'd kept them in after left.

Geppetto's parents and a little Marilyn Monroe doll. Nice little creepy family.

"I have a great place to put this," Emma turned and joked. She held up the doll and stopped when she saw the little interaction that'd been going on behind her.

David stared at the Huntsman and stroked his beard in fascination. The Huntsman stayed very still but his eyes betrayed his story. It had been a very long time…if ever that someone had showed him that innocent compassion other than Emma. David gave him his trademark sloppy kiss and he looked at Emma and then at the boy again, "Thank you?"

Emma smiled gently at the tender scene between her son and the man she thought she might have a possible future with.

He noticed that Emma and Ms. Ginger was watching them, "I'm sorry…do you-?"

"No," Emma shook her head, "No, it's fine. You can hold him for a little bit longer."

"We should probably take him home," Graham said, "It is getting late and your mother- your mother figure is a bit busy running three booths."

Emma nodded, "Yeah, I think that would be best…"

"It's not a far walk."

Emma nodded, "It's not."

They both walked side by side out of the small festival. David kept stroking Graham's beard because for some reason he found it fascinating. Emma meekly intertwined her last two fingers with his and when he didn't react badly, she slipped her hand into it. It wasn't supposed to be an intimate gesture but it was a comfortable one. Maybe that's why, instead of reacting badly, he tightened the grip on her hand and together they walked home.

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The lights were on when they arrived on the porch. Emma recognized Jefferson's car in the back as the Huntsman walked her to the door. Well it seemed that Jefferson had come there to watch the game or…plot things or whatever they did behind her back.

By then David was bored with the Huntsman and reached for his mother. Emma took him and looked at the Huntsman quietly, "Well, this is my house."

"Thank you," he told her.

"For what?"

"Everything you've done for me. I know that…you're feeling guilty for waking me up."

Emma averted her gaze, she wondered who blabbed that but it was possible that he figured it out on his own. Emma hadn't really hidden it as well as she should've, "That's ridiculous."

"Well don't," he told her, "Don't be ashamed that you gave me my identity back…or restored my memories…you've done a great thing…it's very easy to take freedom for granted until it's lost."

"Well I can understand a bit of that," she muttered.

He rested a hand on the side of her face. Instinctively she pulled away slightly and she saw his face fall.

"Graham," she drew in a breath, "I want to…but I can't…not- not yet."

He looked hurt, "I understand."

"No Graham, listen, it's not you."

"I'm not the best man for your son right now," he told her without anger, "I'm still trying to get through things. But I'm talking to the therapist…I mean I have to smudge some details but I'm trying to get better. I can understand why you'd be reluctant to think about it yet- I mean we just held hands and I…it was stupid that I touch you like that or make assumptions. I'm sorry."

"Yes while that was rather fast," Emma conceded, "It's not you. I heard you're getting therapy and that's…that's amazing. You're doing what I can't. But it was a little over a year ago that the man I fell in love with…my first love that _wasn't _a child's crush… did what Neal did. And I'm still trying to work through that and everything my father's thrown at me and readjusting to everything and rebuilding my life…I want you in my life too, but like that? Not yet. I don't want to rush into everything because we feel obligated to after we saved you or something. If we're going to think about being in a relationship then we're going to do it because we like each other. You've spent this month trying to deal with your past and I understand that completely but I haven't really gotten to know you yet. So, I want to do that before we get into anything. Because maybe if I had done that with Neal then things wouldn't have escalated like they did.

He nodded, "I understand."

He meant it; she could see it in his eyes.

"So, I'll see you at work tomorrow."

"Yes," Emma said with a smile, "You'll see me."

The Huntsman smiled and kissed her on the cheek. Emma gave him the same gesture and walked into the house where she found Jefferson and her father in the back room watching the television.

"Was that a breakup or a promise to date?" Jefferson asked.

"I'm not sure," her father said but she didn't know how he felt about it since he kept his face expressionless, "Both, perhaps?"

Emma scoffed, "Well, you two weren't listening at the door, what did you do? Sneak out through the back and listen from the bushes?"

"Nothing so juvenile," Jefferson said and took a sip of his tea and glared daggers to the back of Graham's head, "Your father opened a window."

Emma rolled her eyes and sat between them. They may have found a truce but that didn't mean they weren't sitting on opposite sides of the couch, "There is such a thing called privacy."

"HA!" Jefferson said, "Privacy in a small town ruled by an imp and an evil queen, you're hilarious."

"Pawpaw!" David greeted his grandfather and reached for him.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled radiantly at his grandson and lifted him out of Emma's lap, "Hello David, were you good for your mother?"

Jefferson poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her. Emma accepted it with a smile and leaned back, "Who's winning?"

"Not sure," Jefferson said and furrowed his eyebrows, "Not even sure how one plays this game."

"Hockey isn't that hard to figure out," Emma told him.

"They beat each other with sticks and skate on thin blades while on ice…and they called me mad."

"Only the jealous ones," Emma kissed his cheek and put her legs up on the coffee table.

"Emma!" her father scowled, "Decency!"

"Oh stop dad, I built this in woodshop."

"And why do you think I don't want you scratching it up?"

Emma blinked and tried to ignore the guilt she still felt because she left almost three years ago. He'd kept everything she'd made him, "My legs are tired and my feet hurt. I have a hole in my shoe or something because I stepped in a puddle and its cold outside and now my feet hurt because I still had to stand on them."

"Told you not to go," Rumpelstiltskin said but raised no more fuss about her feet being up there.

Jefferson looked at both of them, "Can I put my feet up too?"

"No!" Rumpelstiltskin snapped.


	55. Chapter 55

Three months passed. Emma turned nineteen, and contemplated taking college courses since she got her GED in prison. David turned a year old and learned to walk. Rumpelstiltskin had missed it. Emma was spending time up on the hill with Jefferson. Sometimes she spent the night up there when she had more than one day off in a row.

He'd gotten the call when he was closing up the shop. Emma was talking so fast that he didn't understand her and he could hear that she was sort of crying as well. He thought that Jefferson had done something at first but when he finally deciphered her excited words, he learned that David had taken his first steps. Jefferson and Emma were talking on the couch; probably involving Jefferson's rant about how dating Graham was a bad idea, and David was playing on the rug. He'd been maneuvering himself around while clinging to things for a while now. He had plenty to grab ahold of in the pawn shop to practice walking and Rumpelstiltskin used the same technique that Emma used when she was learning. He let David hold the cane while he walked around the store. Things were a lot slower because of David's baby steps but it wasn't like anyone came in there anyway.

Anyway, apparently during their conversation, David had gotten the bravery to let go of the table and he toddled on Jefferson's rug for the first time without any assistance to hold himself up and then plopped right down.

And Emma was beyond thrilled and proud. She bragged about it more than he did and he bragged about it to everyone he could find on Rent Day and those he made loans to.

When they celebrated David's year and a half birthday (Odd, but it was apparently a tradition that Mary Margaret wanted to celebrate and when he refused, she roped Emma in on it and well…Emma always made exceptions when her mother gave what he liked to refer as, 'The Big Pleading Doe Eyes'.

And that was the night Graham felt like he was ready enough to ask Emma out for a date.

"He stuttered through asking," Emma told her father as they washed dishes together after the little party. He had done his best to avoid everyone in the house. He'd sat in the corner glowering at everyone, daring them to touch anything in his house. He only softened when David toddled toward him. Apparently his lap was the best one to nap in after tearing through gifts and exhausting himself, "But he asked me to a date at the Rabbit Hole."

Although David was more interested in the colorful paper than the boxes.

Except for that one gift…he was going to make whoever bought the drum set pay dearly.

He just watched her as she dried the dish. She was blushing a bit when she told him. She didn't bother to hide a bit of excitement in her voice either, "So I imagine that you're going to take him up on his offer."

He made sure his voice was disapproving, she was far too young to drink alcohol and he wasn't even sure she could hold it.

Emma looked at him and then looked back down, "Don't worry dad, I'm not going to get wasted, that's not a good first date impression and it's not a good example to those my age even though ID's are notorious for staying in the pockets instead of being displayed."

"So, you're going to allow him to court you," he noted.

"Well no one says 'courting' anymore but…," Emma nodded, "I think I am."

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" he asked. He'd been dreading this moment since she was a baby. He had to face the fact that his little girl would be looking into seriously dating but there was a part of him that would hope that she'd abstain since everyone was supposed to have false memories and were technically FAR older than her.

Well, she'd found a way around that with Neal but that hadn't ended well. Maybe it was better if Emma dated a damaged…older man who did care about her and could take care of her.

Rumpelstiltskin wasn't completely sold on the idea that they loved each other yet. He understood that they cared about each other, but they were nowhere close to love. Emma realized it as well and that was one of the reasons why they were still taking it as slow as they were. Emma wanted to make sure they loved each other before anything beyond flirtation happened.

"The nightmares are lessoning since he's been in therapy…and he's merging both personalities now and he's functioning and he's good around David so I'm going to…I'm going to try a relationship."

He watched her determined eyes and knew that he wasn't going to talk her out of it. He couldn't say why he disapproved, perhaps it was because she was always going to be the same little girl who ran up to him, hugged his neck and called him _daddy_.

"You should be careful," he told her. He couldn't tell her she couldn't date him now that it came down to it and he'd supported her up until she was ready to date…but he didn't have to like it, "Trauma can…emerge at the most inopportune times."

Emma nodded; they both suffered nightmares from the things they'd been through. Emma still dreamed about jail and things from the old world that she honestly shouldn't at that age. He had the dreams as well but after he'd attacked Emma, he'd willed himself NOT to attack her when she woke him up.

One day, it could be his grandson that was trying to wake him up.

Thanks to that encounter, he now was cursed with nightmares of strangling his daughter and being unable to stop.

"I will," she promised, "And nothing's going to happen…you should know that now. Trust me; the last thing I want is to put myself in a position where I might get pregnant again."

Oh good, he wasn't entirely sure how he was going to bring that up without it sounding like he was callously reminding her of her past and making it sound like he didn't trust her.

She looked at him and put the final dish in the rack, "If I asked you something, do you promise not to freak out on me? Because it'd only be hypothetical."

Oh, he could never promise that, "Go ahead."

"Could I get pregnant?"

He tensed and dropped the dishrag. Please, of all things why did she have to ask that? What happened to everything being too early and too soon? "Emma-."

"Nothing's going to happen!" She repeated as quickly as possible, "Please…I just want to know….I mean; what if one thing leads to another and…let's say that I marry Graham and we want to start a family here…"

"You'd want to bring another baby into all this?" he demanded.

"Okay, so what if it's accidental and we don't plan it…could I have a baby? Or is his body like….Cinderella's and completely frozen and...Everything doesn't work to its fullest potential?"

He watched the heat climb to her face and turned on the water again to watch the last of the soapsuds drain in. So this was it; his daughter was off making plans for her and her son's future. He was hoping he'd have more time with her. He was still supposed to have at least nine more years of her being her daughter before she met her family and inevitable picked them over him because of how good and noble they were.

HE wasn't prepared for this! He could discourage her from taking this step, tell her that she wouldn't have children with him and since he was older than her and watched her grow up and had issues then he wasn't the man for her. She'd listen to him…

NO, the dark one was tempting him. He'd lied to Emma already and he'd utterly destroyed their relationship and they were still building on that. He had to _trust _her to make the right choices and decisions and he had to support her to make her happy.

"I don't know," he told her truthfully, "There may be a chance that you can and there may be a chance that you couldn't but I do have to advise you not to take those steps Emma. You don't want another child pulled into this.

"Yeah," she said and dried off the sink, "I know."

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Breaking the news to her father that she and Graham were going to start dating had kept Emma awake several nights for a week, but she knew he would take it as gracefully as he could since she was an adult and he promised to support her if she and the Huntsman took those steps.

But that was still going to be a cakewalk compared to telling her mother.

When she broke the news to her over breakfast on a school holiday Friday, Mary Margaret had paled. She got that disapproving look that she got when Emma was about to make a mistake and her lips settled in a thin colorless line, "Emma, I've known the sheriff longer than I can remember. Longer than you came to Storybrooke."

Boy, wasn't that the truth.

"I'm not sure age is really relevant here," Emma said while staring into her cereal.

"Isn't relev-," she gaped at her daughter and took that motherly tone, "Emma, you're nineteen years old! He's like 28-."

"He's thirty," Emma told her truthfully but she knew that would just make it worse. Her mother wouldn't question the fact that Graham would've been eleven when Emma got to town. The curse wouldn't allow her to look past that.

"Emma, he's eleven years older than you are! And I'm not sure if you know this but he's…," she blushed bright red, "He's had dealings with the mayor."

Emma looked up, "You know about that?"

"_Everyone _knows about that!" Mary exclaimed, "But no one ever talks about it! He's a lot more experienced than you are in a lot of things and _that _is one of them."

"Studies show that girls tend to look at men that are older for companionship," Emma told her mom. She didn't know what the big deal was, it wasn't like Emma wasn't going to catch up to him in age, "They look for someone more mature."

"Eleven years, Emma! And he's your employer. Office romances never work out. Trust me on that one, I know."

_No, that's just what your false memories told you to believe. _

"I think- I think it could work out," Emma said quietly

Mary Margaret sighed in frustration and set her furious gaze on Emma, "And your father approves of this?"

"He said he would support me," Emma told her mother, "I'm not sure he's entirely happy with it but as long as I follow his rules while I'm living under his roof then he promised to support me."

Mary Margaret seemed surprised by this and ran a hand through her short black hair, her eyes filled with tears and she grabbed Emma's hand, "You do realize that I've known you since you were practically three weeks old?"

"I know," Emma squeezed her hand.

"And you know that I just want what's best for you and David."

Emma nodded, "It's just dating, Mary Margaret…it might not even work out."

"And it might work out," Mary Margaret reminded her, "And what happens then? Emma...if this is what you want then I say to go for it. I know that it's been over two years since you were abandoned by Neal…but I want to make sure that you're making the right decision for you and him and not just trying to find a decent father for him."

Emma felt the air being driven from her lungs. Her mother had no idea how many times she'd laid awake at night asking herself that same question. Did she really want a chance with the sheriff? Or was she only accepting his wish to date her out of obligation since she woke him up because of developing feelings? She cared about both Graham and the Huntsman but in separate ways. When he showed her signs of Graham, the old feelings came. The longing that she'd felt when he smiled at her or looked at her in the way that he did. But as the Huntsman she cared about him in a different way. A way that she didn't fully understand because she spent a majority of their start supporting him and being his protector and now that relationship was starting to change to where he could support her and they were falling into a bit of a respectful relationship since he knew what was going on and they could protect each other. It was different.

And sometimes Emma lay awake at night wondering if she could love both personalities in two different ways and if she could merge those feelings together.

Or what if those feelings didn't exist at all and she was just looking for a father figure for David and these feelings were just infatuation?

Emma didn't need her mother to cast any doubt on her dating the Huntsman because Emma was asking herself a million questions every night anyway

Mary Margaret shifted her position in the chair, "Emma, if you want my advice, I think that if you're going to date Graham, then you date him for about a year before you take another step. And if you're going to be engaged then I suggest you stay engaged to him for about another year. Life isn't a fairy tale. It takes a lot of struggle to maintain a relationship and it takes a while to get to know that person-."

Emma listened intently as her mother advised her. She supposed most girls her age would want to do what they wanted no matter what their parents said. But this far, Emma was at a loss for how she was supposed to really conduct herself. She didn't want to do anything that might lead to her getting pregnant again, she had told the truth to her father when she said that. Rushing into bed wasn't something that she wanted and with the Huntsman's experiences, they had agreed to at least wait until marriage if they ever got that far. They had far more to focus on.

And two years of dating sounded good. She honestly didn't have anyone other than her mother to talk to about this. She supposed she could talk to her dad but he only had bitter things to say about love. He wouldn't understand even if he did support her. And Jefferson didn't like Graham any more than her father did.

Besides, they were men who had lived in a Fairy Tale World and were still unfamiliar with the fact that things were different in this world. You didn't fall in love with someone here and live happily ever after, it took a lot of work to maintain a relationship. Emma felt like she needed someone with memories and knowledge of THIS world to guide her on this particular subject.

"Okay Mary Margaret," Emma promised her, "I will."

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Rumpelstiltskin watched his daughter tease her hair in the mirror and he didn't bother to reprimand her for the green dress that she was wearing that brought out her eyes. He may not like this but she was beaming radiantly and he could accept that

His little girl was out dating now. Honestly seriously 'potential future husband' dating.

Perhaps he should've gone to Mary Margaret to see what he should do. Ever since Emma had breakfast with her mother, she'd been far more confident about the relationship, "Does he treat you well?"

Emma smiled in a way that reminded him of the hundreds of women that had found their happiness. It reminded him of Belle, "Yes."

No, he couldn't think about that. He couldn't think about that loss, "And you're happy?"

"Yes."

He smiled gently, happy for her at least, "Good."

Emma smiled brightly and he couldn't remember the last time she'd looked like that, "Emma, once again you should know that I'm so sorry that this has all been hard on you."

Emma stopped and looked at him in the reflection before she scoffed and grabbed her purse, "It's nothing I can't handle."

"You deserve better than me for a father."

Emma grabbed his hands, "Dad, stop judging yourself on just your failures. You taught me everything I needed to know. I'm a survivor thanks to you, you know that."

He refused to reply until she smiled at him. She looked so pretty and happy and so much like her mother. He hadn't completely destroyed her like he destroyed everything else he touched and loved.

"Well?" she asked for his approval.

He smiled gently, almost going back in time when the prospect of adopting her was such a rash, exciting and life changing decision. Oh, if things were still that simple…

"You look like your mother did when she was seeing Prince Charming."

His words struck something deep in Emma and she looked genuinely touched by his words. Her eyes filled with tears but she blinked them back and smiled at him in a way that made him regret all the lies he'd told her and his part in destroying their relationship.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he returned it. He wished she would change her mind. But he knew that look in her eyes and he knew the way that she and Graham looked at each other and what it would blossom into. He would lose his daughter to a husband and family and when her parents woke up then they would be picked over him. Because what princess chose a monster parent over the loving ones that had made so many plans for her that didn't fit an agenda?

At least he had these twenty some odd years with her as his daughter. He could hold onto that.

And he knew that no matter what he told himself, she was never his to lose anyway.

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When Ms. Ginger gossiped to Regina that the Sheriff and the Deputy were considering 'seeing each other for more than just workdays', Regina had gone into a furious rage.

Leave it to that seductive vindictive harpy to try and take Regina's conquest out of pure spite!

When she was alone that Saturday, Regina locked herself in her office and stared at the beating heart that she usually kept in a secret vault. She could control the heart, make Graham break it off with Emma but Emma had been working with Graham for the better part of the year. She would know that something was wrong and she might suspect that Regina had the heart.

Or she could kill him but that would REALLY tip them off. Glass half full though; she would destroy Emma's happiness and David would lose a potential father which would hurt her more.

So what did she do?

Manipulate things from behind the scenes, that's what she was supposed to be good at. Ever since Rumpelstiltskin nearly destroyed what he _thought _was the Huntsman's heart, Regina had been forbidden by that curse '_please_' command, to go anywhere near his family and so she had been biding her time until she had an opportunity and now she had it.

She should probably wait to play this card until a bigger opportunity but she had to end it now. Emma getting Graham meant that she won and the idea of Emma prancing around town with someone that Regina had first just made her skin crawl.

What was Graham doing planning to knock boots with someone that was a child compared to all of them?

Besides, it wasn't like Graham remembered, so with what Emma was doing, how was she better than Regina?

So…honestly she was doing Graham a favor as she drove up to that hill. Of course she wouldn't control Graham's heart to re-indulge in her little hobby because Emma would find out. Rumpelstiltskin had spies everywhere and they would find out and once again, Regina's advantage would be blown.

So she thought of another card in her deck. It had nearly worked last time until she got knocked up by some petty thief's spawn and suddenly wanted daddy. Oh sure her pawn had…acted differently than what she was hoping for but the two years that Emma was gone was practically paradise. Emma's absence was worth the despondent depression that Rumpelstiltskin had went through and Regina wished that she had cameras installed around the town so that she could enjoy every minute of it.

That would teach him to grab her throat and threaten her life.

Jefferson was not thrilled when he opened the door and saw her. And by 'not thrilled,' she meant that she was surprised that she wasn't dead where she stood when she stood on his porch.

"What do you want, Regina?" he demanded.

"You drove Emma away almost three years ago," Regina said with a smirk, "I'd like you to either do that again or get her away from her current romantic interest."

Jefferson studied her face, "You're asking me to betray my best friend again."

"Well, I was hoping that that wouldn't be as disturbing to hear now that Emma's legal, but it hasn't gotten any less eerie."

He started to slam the door in her face. Regina slammed her hand against the door and glared at him, "Get Emma and Graham apart and I'll give you can have Grace back."

Jefferson pulled back the door, ever so slightly and that's how she knew that she had him. She saw the conflict in his eyes, she saw the longing to be reunited with his daughter and the terror that he was even considering working with her again, "And how exactly am I supposed to do that?"

"Why should I care? Seduce her if you want to, didn't she carry a torch for you when she was a kid? I seem to remember you like blondes."

And the faraway look that he had…the one that he got when he was thinking about a hypothetical future of being reunited with his daughter and going home was immediately gone and he snapped back to reality and what was worse, he remembered what happened the last time he went through on his end of the bargain and she had not.

"Emma is going to give me my daughter back," he told her furiously, "And the last time you approached me…and you were willing to use your magic to hurt Emma and her father…I made a decision…and I hurt one of the only people that I've ever cared about and I'll never forgive myself for that no matter how much she forgave me. You took away my daughter and you tried to force me to choose between her and a seventeen year old that I took under my protection. I will _not _make that mistake again."

Regina winced as he slammed the door in her face.

Candor was never her strong suit. She supposed she would just have to wait.

Oh well, letting them get close would just make it better when she ripped him away from Emma again.

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They'd taken both their vehicles to the Rabbit Hole to avoid any gossip.

And because the Huntsman didn't want to suffer through Rumpelstiltskin's glares as he picked her up.

He was waiting for her when she pulled up. There was enough Graham there for him to nervously shift from one foot to the other and when she walked up to him, he averted his eyes and held out a rose. Emma smiled at the sweet gesture and accepted it. The best gift any boy had ever gotten her was the keychain and she really felt guilty for wearing it around her neck now.

"Ready?"

Well, here they went to take the plunge. Emma wasn't sure how long it would take for tongues to wag, but since they were going to the rabbit hole for dinner on a Saturday night, she knew it wouldn't take long.

She accepted his hand, "Yes."

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Jefferson waited impatiently for Regina to return to her office before he tore down the hill and was soon banging on the door of the pink (*giggles*) Dark One's house.

Rumpelstiltskin opened the two minutes into him knocking frantically; he didn't bother to hide his irritation, "What do you want knocking like that? I just put David down!"

"Regina was at the house," Jefferson told him. He watched Rumpelstiltskin's eyes widen briefly and without another word of protest, he opened the door for Jefferson to walk through.

When Jefferson told him what Regina wanted him to do, Rumpelstiltskin's hand tightened on the cane, "She wanted you to seduce my daughter?"

"I refused," Jefferson reminded him.

"And how do you feel about Emma?" he shot him an accusing look, "Need I remind you that we made a deal awhile back that specifically stated that if our world is still there, you could return home as long as you didn't reciprocate any of Emma's old feelings that would require you wanting to bring her along."

Jefferson was silent for a few minutes as he tried to think of the best answer that wouldn't get him caned in the face, "She's only nineteen. She's still just a child. Besides, she chose Graham and he's a good man and he'll be a good father to David."

He didn't answer Rumpelstiltskin's question and Rumpelstiltskin was fully aware of it.

"And Regina wanted you to find a way to butt in on my daughter's happiness?"

"She hates losing."

"Royalty is usually like that," Rumpelstiltskin muttered and he turned to the door, "I'll take care of it."

Jefferson's head shot up and he moved to block the door, "I wouldn't do that."

"I would suggest you get out of the way."

Jefferson thought quickly, it was a gift that resulted in him surviving when he was on the other side, "If you do what I think you'll do, you're going to put Emma in a very precarious position when she has to arrest you. Now what do you think that's going to do to her? Regina is trying to lash out any way she can. She's getting petty and desperate which means she'll hurt Emma in any catty way she can. There is no reason to destroy a woman for that. We have the advantage still; she doesn't know that the Huntsman's memories are back. She's trying to drive a wedge between all of us. I wouldn't let her to do it to me, don't let her do it to you and your daughter when Emma has to arrest you."

"And if we don't handle this now then she'll try something bigger."

"Yes," Jefferson agreed, "But is the price worth it? I don't think it is. We warn Emma about what Regina tried to do. That's all we do for now.

"And who are you to decide that?" Rumpelstiltskin demanded angrily.

"You're not in your right mind," Jefferson told him simply, "You're letting your temper get ahold of you like you always do when Regina sticks her nose in your family's business. You need to think about what's best for Emma."

Rumpelstiltskin considered his words, "We warn Emma then, and we wait."

Jefferson nodded, "You've waited for centuries."

Rumpelstiltskin nodded, but the anger still remained in his eyes, "What's a few years more?"

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The Huntsman listened to his Graham personality on what a perfect gentleman was supposed to do. He took her coat, he held the chair out for her and he paid the check. Emma was aware that every eye was on them and she tried to ignore it as they focused on making small talk.

The other things could wait until at least the second date. If anything, the first date felt more like their official announcement that they were together.

By nine, Leroy decided it was time for his drunken karaoke and Graham and Emma decided that it was just about the time that they leave. He had the night shift after all and he figured it was probably best if he went ahead and escorted her home before he had to put Leroy in the drunk tank to sleep it off.

He followed behind her and when she pulled into the driveway, he opened the car door for her and walked her to the door.

"I'm sorry the possibility of Leroy's night visit sort of cut the date short," he told her when they stopped at the door.

Emma shrugged and smiled, "It's alright, maybe next time we should…catch a movie or something."

"Alright," he stepped closer.

Emma's breath caught in her throat as she looked up at him. So, this was it. The one point of the evening that had been on her mind since she started getting ready had been this. He pushed her hair over her shoulders and looked into her eyes. Emma figured that he was looking for any sign of her being uncomfortable or unwilling.

She wasn't. They had agreed that two years was a good time to date but she didn't want to be without romantic gestures. So while he made sure she was alright with this, she just waited.

Thankfully, he let his Graham personality tell him how to do this because unlike the rough Huntsman she was growing to care about, the kiss was very gentle and sweet. Emma wasn't taken aback like she thought she might be and instead drew closer to him. She slipped her hand in his and rested her other hand on the back of his neck.

He pulled away and it felt too soon. He smiled at her, "Goodnight."

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said and reluctantly let go of his hand. He started down the porch before he turned, came back up and gave her a final kiss before he had to leave. Emma watched him until he was out of sight, smiled excitedly to herself and opened the door.

And found Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin talking in the living room. They stopped when they saw her and she didn't bother to look and see if the window was open because she probably knew it was.

"Is this going to be a thing every time Graham and I go out?" She asked and hung up her coat, "Should I get the guest room ready so that Jefferson can start living with us and save gas?"

"Regina's reared her head again," her father told her.

Emma felt that clench in her stomach at that woman's name. They saw each other but did what they could to avoid the other one. It was the only thing that they could do to keep the town intact since neither one wanted or could leave.

Emma certainly did want to push Regina over the border and see what happened though.

She was aware that Jefferson was staring at her with wide eyes for a few seconds longer than he needed to be and she looked down at the green dress to make sure that there was nothing she'd spilled on there. When she looked back up he was looking away and talking far faster than what she was understanding. Something about how Regina wanted her and Graham separated because she didn't want Emma to have a happier ending than she was going to have.

"She wanted me to betray you again. I refused and I slammed the door in her face because I knew it'd be funny. I came here immediately to tell your father and you what was going on and to encourage you not to do anything because that's exactly what she wants."

Emma tried to process what he was telling her, "is that it? Her being petty is the reason you two are freaking out?"

"She's still trying to drive a wedge between all of us."

"But we're better than that," Emma said and pulled off her heels, "We're stronger than what she can throw at us. Right now, we just have to wait out her tantrum."

"And what happens if she comes toward us again with something bigger?"

"Then we face it just like we always do," Emma picked up her shoes, "Now I had a good date, and we had fun and he kissed me and I'm going to bed because I have to work tomorrow. Let Regina plan her plans and try to manipulate us. As long as we all stick together then she can't hurt us, we've seen that up close and so has she."

Emma kissed her father on the cheek goodnight and moved to Jefferson, "But thank you for telling us immediately anyway, you have no idea how much that means after…everything we've been through."

Jefferson's face crumbled and before she kissed him on the cheek, he pulled her into a suffocating embrace and whispered in her ear, "Get me my daughter back, we'll call it even."


	56. Chapter 56

The day before David turned two years old; he got the cough that was going around town. Emma couldn't say that she didn't expect it. It was the same one that she got every year as a child and now she was bringing it home to him after running around town.

On his second birthday, he hit a bit of a fever and the congestion set in his chest. It was three in the morning and Emma found herself crouched in the bathroom, bent over the large tub that was for guests and for her. Emma kept the shower running to try and break up the congestion. David cried in her lap in exhaustion and his pitiful whimpers afterwards broke her heart.

Normally he squirmed out of her grip; ever since he could walk, he'd liked to explore. He hated being in one place. However, when he was sick, he always leaned on her. This morning, he rested his head on Emma's shoulder and she rubbed his back.

When the water cooled off a bit, Emma placed him in the water and gave him a bath. He was distracted for a bit and slammed his open palms in the water contently. His favorite game was to soak either his mother or his grandfather in as much water as he could

But then the excitement wore him down and he was coughing again. Emma rubbed his back until the coughing subsided. She sang him the same lullabies that her father used to sing to her about their home.

And then, taking care of David…she really started to think.

One day her son was going to go to school, and there was the extremely likely chance that he would run into the same bullies she had faced, face the same assignments that she had learned and face the same teachers she had.

Eventually, he would be old enough to realize that not everyone was aging the way he was.

What was she to do then? When she was pregnant with him in the prison, she had vowed that if she raised him, she would not be like her father. She would always be truthful to her son and not stoop to the things he had to ensure her love and devotion to him.

Now that she was back, and she actually held her son in her arms and watched him innocently play and interact with his world, she wondered if she had been too naïve.

Part of it was selfish; she wanted to preserve her son's innocence for as long as she could. That was natural, wasn't it? That was a parent thing to do. Her reasoning wasn't like her fathers. He had done it mostly because he didn't want her to know her heritage. He had been worried that she would pick them over him. He was still worried about that. Nothing Emma could do to ease him of that fear. She'd spent the last twenty years of her life assuring him that wouldn't be the case but he hadn't listened. She had decided long ago that Prince Charming was _not _her father. Rumpelstiltskin had raised her and so he was to be her dad. However, all Rumpelstiltskin's loved ones had left him in some way or another and he was certain she would as well once she met her real parents. He was wrong though.

And another part of it was for his safety; Regina knew that they were aware of what was going on. However, if she found out that David knew, then she might find a way to manipulate him. She might find a way to exploit his innocence and he might end up hurt.

Emma couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let that monster anywhere near her son.

Oh, and Regina would too. She'd been circling Emma for the past year. When Jefferson refused to break them up and Rumpelstiltskin practically laughed her out of the office, Regina had gone to the council board and tried to have Emma or Graham removed from their position if the relationship continued. It didn't take long for her father, part of the council, to point out that there was no rule set in the town against the sheriff dating a deputy. Mostly because Regina hadn't thought to create one. The smirk on Rumpelstiltskin's face was wide and Regina was fuming.

So she had cameras set up in the station and in the sheriff's car. She did it behind Emma and Graham's back though. To try and prove that they were up to romantic activities while they were on the job.

However, that also had backfired as Emma and Graham always stayed professional when on the taxpayer's dime. They had agreed to it just in case.

And Regina had retreated for a bit to think of another solution.

But maybe things were far more complicated than simple lying. Oh, her father was wrong to tell her that she couldn't leave town, there was no mistake about that…but some of the things that he'd kept from her until she was older…perhaps he hadn't been as wrong about.

"Oh David," she whispered as she watched her son's eyes start to get heavy, "What do I do?"

But he was two. He offered no advice on how she should go about some things. And it was the time that Emma had to accept that none of them; not herself, or her father, or Jefferson or Mary Margaret, or Graham could tell her exactly how she was supposed to raise a child without a curse in a land trapped in one.

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The day of David's second birthday was spent with Vicks Vapor Rub, Frequent visits to the shower and hours spent on the couch.

And that was before nine in the morning.

Her father had taken the day off as well and at ten, he had joined her on the couch as well. He had been up frequently during the night as well. He hovered over David when the cough began and wanted a shift to take care of him so that Emma could sleep

Emma refused. David was her son and she wanted to be in this for the duration of the sickness, that way she would immediately know if he was getting worse.

It was Sunday, and so several games were on. Rumpelstiltskin watched them with the volume low but she knew he wasn't paying attention. Anyway, it was all background noise; easily acknowledged or avoided. She dozed slightly, but she was never asleep long enough to lose her bearings and she only dozed when David was asleep. Whenever she woke up, her father was still there next to her. He thought himself a frail weak powerless human but it was times like this where she did lean on his fatherly strength that he refused to acknowledge he had.

David crawled in between their laps. Wanting comfort from both. Rumpelstiltskin's face crumbled at the boy's weak cough and raspy breathing and he held him close. No one would ever believe the change that came over him behind closed doors. The town just couldn't understand how the terrifying mysterious and vicious Mr. Gold could make his daughter and his grandson his whole world and have a…almost healthy relationship with them. Well, it was healthier now than it had been years ago, since they were all honest now.

Emma looked at her father; there was a question that had been on her mind for a while now. She'd been reluctant to ask it because she knew where it would go, "What happens to us when you're reunited with Bae and we go home?"

Rumpelstiltskin didn't bother to hide the pain in his eyes and he chose to look at the cane in his hand rather than her, "I suspect you'll go back home."

"And where exactly is home for me?" Emma asked. It was true that she would be reunited with her parents but it wasn't like she would be able to bond with them in the way that a child should. There were far too many missed opportunities and they hadn't aged. They would still in the same mindset as she was. She might have moments with her mother because of the years they spent here together but…no in a real parental relationship. Emma didn't see them suddenly hitting it off and her forgetting the man that fathered her for 28 years.

Why was it so easy for Rumpelstiltskin to imagine that scenario when even Emma knew it was unlikely?

"You'll be in your father's castle of course," he told her and she knew that he wasn't talking about his, "You'll be a princess…"

"That's not what I want."

Emma didn't mean to sound ungrateful. Really, how many little girls wished they were princesses as children? Emma could have it all if she just went with the future he had imagined for her. A castle, a place of power, parents that loved her…

…but it wasn't _her. _She'd been isolated as a child thanks to the curse. She'd learned early on how to be a lone wolf with very few friends she could rely on. No fairy tale princess was like that.

Well, her mother was. Her mother could understand in a sense. But her mother had also lived for years in a castle surrounded by those that loved her and she'd only had to rely on herself when she was an adult. Until then, she'd been a sheltered princess.

Emma couldn't identify with that. She couldn't take balls and pretentious royal ceremonies and a thousand procedures to enact with every event. She was the daughter of the dark one! Her mother had given up her birthright when she agreed to let Emma belong to Rumpelstiltskin.

"Then what do you want?"

Emma smiled slightly; she and Graham didn't get to go on many dates since someone always had to be on call or working. When they did get to go on dates, it was something they discussed. He saw castles as cages and in a way, so did she, "A cabin in the woods."

"Away from everyone," he realized.

"I will have saved the world by then," she said and leaned back, "My job will be done."

"You'll be a hero," he told her, "People will want to pay homage."

"And then one day when we're long dead, there will be another disaster and another hero will come to save the day," Emma looked at the TV, "I'm not so important."

Rumpelstiltskin scoffed, "I'd like to see them do what you'll do one day."

Emma was quiet, "I hope no one ever resorts to what you have in order for that to happen."

He was quiet after that. But finally he turned to her, "Why should you hope for a relationship with me after what I did to separate you from your parents and your home? After what I've done to everyone including my own wife?"

Emma sat up, "And why should you allow me back in your house after what I did to hurt you?"

"I'm not sure that's technically on par with the atrocities I've committed."

"I know," Emma whispered and looked at him. In truth, the things he'd told her he'd done terrified her. Especially since he didn't believe he could change. It would be the perfect excuse he needed to slip right back into that insane mind once they got back home, "But despite the things you've done; you're my father and I love you. You may not see it in yourself but you're changing. Little by little but you are getting there. I think…maybe…that maybe one day you'll be able to forgive yourself for what you've done. And if you can then others can."

Her words hit something in him. He wrapped his arms around his daughter and held her against his chest in a crushing embrace. The move was unexpected but Emma returned the embrace and held him close to.

"My beautiful girl," he practically sobbed, "I love you so much."

"I love you too," she told him. He'd always said that she was one of the shining lights of his dark life and she buried her face in his shoulder. Dark One he was, she still wanted to make him proud of her and she struggled daily to be the daughter that he raised her to be.

The doorbell rang and her father pulled back reluctantly. He shot her a happy smile and kissed her forehead, "I'll get it."

Emma wiped her tears away as he got up and answered it. At first Emma thought that it was her mother at the door but when she heard a man's voice, she thought it might be Jefferson coming to wish David a happy birthday. However, that was unlikely. Once he'd heard that David might be sick, he'd just had the twelve gifts he'd bought him delivered. Emma would've been offended but Jefferson always got ill with anything that Emma or her father might be carrying and he seemed to get it far worse than they did.

Probably another consequence of Regina's curse isolating him.

He came into the room and ripped open the paper. It fell to the floor and he happily showed that the order he'd forced Emma to make had finally arrived.

Emma lay on the pillow and watched her father take out the DVD's, "I'm not sure that the extended edition of Fellowship of the Ring is something we should watch on a two year old's birthday."

Rumpelstiltskin looked at his grandson and shrugged, "He doesn't mind."

The game was turned off and the movie was put in. Her father had enjoyed this trilogy. He had read the books countless times since she'd been under his care. She was still in prison when he went to go see it so they were lost to that bonding experience.

He told her he enjoyed the movie well enough but he didn't like how Aragorn had been rewritten as reluctant to take up his father's throne and help deliver the world when he was more than willing to do so in the book.

Emma had found that she could feel movie Aragorn's pain far more than she could the book version.

The DVD menu was up and he picked up the remote and Emma moved to her father's side. He wrapped his arm around her affectionately and kissed the top of her head the way he did when she was young. David sprawled in both their laps and slept

It was the beginning of the second DVD; the new scene where Aragorn visited his mother's grave when Emma's cell phone went off.

Her father scowled at her, "Emma."

"Sorry," she saw it was the Huntsman and answered it immediately, "Hey sweetheart."

Her father pressed 'pause', crossed his arms in irritation and glared daggers at the popcorn.

She looked away from the phone, "He called to wish us goodnight, isn't he sweet?"

"Just get on with it," Rumpelstiltskin muttered and fed David a piece of popcorn.

"Yeah, he's here," she put the cell phone down to David's ear and Emma could only guess that he was wishing him a happy birthday. He didn't sing it, thank God. The Huntsman was skilled at a few things but carrying a note wasn't one of them.

When she was certain some time had passed, she put the phone back up to her ear, "Do you have to work late?"

Rumpelstiltskin tapped his foot and slapped David's hand when he tried to shove it into the popcorn bowl, "No!"

"Alright, I'll see you then," she hung up the phone.

"You didn't tell him you loved him," Rumpelstiltskin noted.

"We're getting there," she assured him, "We want to be sure."

"There's no such thing as being sure with love, dear." He repeated the lesson he'd been telling her for the past year, "It's called faith and you have to have that to believe that no matter what happens, things will work out."

"I thought I had that last time," Emma repeated the answer she'd always given him for the past year as well, "And look how it turned out."

"Eventually you're going to have to take that leap," he told her. He tried to keep the bitterness from his voice but she could hear it. He was giving her advice that he knew was right but he didn't want her following through on.

"Eventually," she whispered and pressed play. Aragorn had a mother that had taken him to someone more powerful than she was to keep him alive and safe even though he would be hunted all his life. Something else she could identify with. Emma imagined if the Middle Earth world existed (Jefferson had just shrugged when she asked him), then she and Aragorn would've made great friends, "But not yet. Especially not with David in the mix now. I have to make sure he's a good father for him."

Rumpelstiltskin looked at her curiously, "If David wasn't in the mix, would things be different between the two of you?"

Emma didn't want to remind him that if things were different and David didn't exist then she would've served her prison sentence and never returned home. However, she humored his hypothetical scenario that stated she came home instead of completely running from her problem like a child in a temper tantrum. What if David didn't exist and she was dating the Huntsman? Would they have confessed their love by now? Or been engaged or married?

"Maybe," was all she offered. She didn't know.

"Do you love him?"

Emma was quiet.

"It's just us here, dear. I won't tell anyone if you won't."

"Yes, I love him."

He looked back at the television and then at her, "He's a good man."

"Not all men make good fathers," Emma threw his old phrase back in his face that he'd used when she was younger and was listing the boys and men in the town that she wanted to date when she caught up to their individual ages."

"He's had a good upbringing," her father told her. He neglected to mention that he was brought up by wolves, but both knew the story, "I'm sure he'll make a good father for David."

"Probably," Emma said and gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like the one David had, "But we're moving at a pace that we're both comfortable with and there's nothing wrong with being cautious."

"Indeed," he looked at the boy trying to sneak in his lap to grab some popcorn, "But too much caution brings regret."

He was speaking out personal experiences now. He was thinking of Belle and the time he'd spent with her.

Emma coughed again and her father noticed this time. A smirk crossed his lips, "Ah, another benefit of parenthood."

"Can't I skip this one?" she muttered.

"Finally, after 16 years of bringing home everything you had," he mockingly shook his head, "It's your turn to suffer."

"I don't know what you're so smug about," Emma grabbed the Vicks Vapor Rub and stood, "You're most likely next."

And the smile that Rumpelstiltskin lost by that statement had formed on Emma as she walked to the bathroom.

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He's going to ask her this week.

The Huntsman has talked it over with the therapist cricket who agreed that it would be the best move. To do what he was proposing would be refreshing, it would help him start anew. The therapy sessions would be ending soon. It was regretful but there was nothing more that the therapist could do for him. This next move that he was planning could symbolize something fresh and signify new beginnings.

Of course the therapist also advised him to make sure he wasn't going to ask Emma to marry him just because he was desperate for a new beginning. He should make sure he loved her first.

And he did. With everything. He loved the way she smiled at him during their dates. There was still a shyness to it that almost made him ignore the sad look in her eyes. The same one he no doubt had when he smiled at her. The look of people who had been hurt and burned and were rising out of the ashes to try again. He loved her eyes and the way they seemed to see into him. She could always tell what he needed and how he felt. He loved the way her hands found his at the right moment he needed someone to hold on to. She was clever about it though. Cameras watched them now so it was usually under the table when he had a particular bad day.

He loved her kindness that always showed through despite how closed off she could be. He loved the kindness she showed him; a man she didn't even know until a year ago. And he loved how she continued to help him, undeterred by his trauma because she thought he was worth saving.

So yes, he was asking her to marry him because he loved her. And she may not realize it yet, but he was sure she loved him. She wouldn't have continued the relationship this long unless she had. Yes, they had agreed to take it slow and get to know one another and that had benefitted both of them. It had allowed both to learn how to trust again.

He liked to think that the therapist had helped him with that as well. It was a rough start with the therapy though. Sometimes the Huntsman forgot that he didn't remember and he was a bit aggressive with him. He told the therapist about the rapes and the other things Regina forced him to do. He told him about the times when Regina got bored of him and gave him to other of her sister clan to be used as their toy when she wanted something from them…only to rip him back and punish him in a jealous rage when they started getting attached…and the emotional and physical torture…he wore the suits that he did to hide those but they were always there. Reminding him of the terror.

Of course, he managed to twist the facts around a bit to make it believable in this world but he kept mostly everything intact. That was usually where the trouble started. Sometimes it was tempting throw the therapist into the wall, choke him and demand to know why none of the supposed 'heroes' stopped what they must've known was happening.

But Doctor Hopper was not Jiminy Cricket and it took everything for the Huntsman to remember that. If he had destroyed him like that then he would've lost the one man in town that supported him dating Emma. Although supporting might be a stretch…he didn't judge or look down on them for the decision.

Neither had Mary Margaret but the only way she had accepted it was by interrogating him for an hour and having an awkward family dinner with her daughter included. No one really said anything and he was certain that everyone wished they were somewhere else. By the end of it though, Mary Margaret had seen something in him that allowed her to accept the man in her daughter's life and she was definitely the only one supporting the relationship in the way someone should support another.

He didn't expect anything less from a mother.

Graham had found the perfect ring a month ago. He had gone to Rumpelstiltskin and asked for her hand in marriage. Rumpelstiltskin had been quiet when he told him he wanted to marry his daughter, if there was any magic left then the Huntsman was sure that it would've been used on him.

"For Emma and David," he told him with a shaking voice, "I will give you my permission."

He found the right ring in the shop a few minutes later. Rumpelstiltskin charged him triple the price for it and told him to think of it as the Bride Price since Emma was entering the marriage with a dowry containing not only the wealth of both her royal biological parents but his inheritance as well.

And then he told him that the debt would be paid before the marriage would commence. Triple the price for a ring may be unheard of in this world but Emma was worth far more than the tag that Rumpelstiltskin had set on the ring.

The Huntsman had just paid it off and now it was sitting on his kitchen counter. It'd nearly broke him but he'd managed to scrape by.

He walked around the apartment and looked around. He would have to find a house soon; there was no room for David and them. It was tempting to ask Rumpelstiltskin for bigger accommodations since it would house his daughter as well but he refused. He didn't need an imp's help to provide for a family.

There would have to be a new bed too. A whole new bedroom set because the one he had was old and falling apart. It had been deliberate he imagined…a way for Regina to herd him to her bed as many nights as possible.

After that thought, he went into a rage. Regina had given him this; she had given him everything in this house. He ripped apart the bed and smashed the wardrobe and nightstands that matched.

He wasn't going to make love to his wife in something that _Regina _had forced him to have.

When the anger subsided, he took to sleeping on the couch. Emma didn't come to the apartment, so she wouldn't notice. He didn't want her to come here because of that temptation. He was better but there were still times he reacted with a jerk or shoving Emma's hand away when she tried to touch him or kiss him sometimes. He could hardly imagine how he would react…if they took it that far.

And that wasn't the only reason he kept her away from him during a lot of his private time.

The familiar pain ripped through his chest and he staggered to his knees. They slammed into the linoleum and he hissed and clutched his heart.

They were worse now. Far worse than they had been a year ago. They were hitting him more times a day as well.

He had thought at first that they would be something he would carry with him for the rest of his life…but now he wasn't sure. Perhaps they had done something wrong when they restored it or perhaps magic was different and so his body was reacting differently.

He needed to talk to Rumpelstiltskin again…he needed to find out what was wrong. If there was something wrong, he wasn't sure how he could settle it and heal him. Rumpelstiltskin had used almost all of his magic but they would think of something.

Emma had no idea yet, he'd been keeping it from her. The way things were going though, she would also know that something was wrong soon.

He pulled himself to a standing position and stared at himself in the mirror. The waves of pain hit and he fought against them. He'd been through worse than this every day that Regina had him. Being whipped until his back was nothing but exposed muscle and then screaming as she forced him to heal for another round was worse than this. Watching Regina bring in the furs of the wolves that had been his family as punishment for not killing Snow was worse than this. This was nothing.

He built up his pain tolerance and struggled to breathe.

And like every other night he'd spent on the ground in agony, he taught himself to endure it.

By the time the next waves of pain hit, he gave no outward sign that something was wrong.

**A/N: Alright to answer a question I've been getting…Emma knows who Belle is. Rumpelstiltskin told her the night he told her everything. **

** Jefferson, in this continuity, does not know who or where Belle is. How he does find out about her will be addressed later. **

** Which brings me to my next point; there's a part of me that wants to split this into two stories. The upside: A chance to start fresh when the curse breaks, as the story is getting lengthy and I do have a lot more twists and turns planned. The downside: When I write a sequel, I usually only bring about only half the fanbase with me. **

** Or I could keep it in one story. The upside: We're about to surpass this next story and we'll be the top reviewed OUaT story on Fanfiction (Thank you so much guys.) and despite myself I sort of like the idea of having that Number 1 spot (I'm competitive. No one's perfect) . I sort of want to hold onto that as long as possible. Downside: It is getting a bit lengthy as I stated. **

** So…I'll PROBABLY keep it in one book but there is the option that I'll split it. Like I said, there is still a lot of material that I want to cover. Emma does go thorugh a lot of trouble, but the relationship with Rumpelsitltksin will always be the main relationship of the story. The relationships with Graham and Jefferson and MM and everyone else is just extra but I like to think that their father/daughter dynamic IS the most important one of the story.**


	57. Chapter 57

When Ruby suggested a girl's night out, Emma wasn't sure what she was honestly supposed to do. She supposed that she and Ruby were friends. Sometimes Ruby liked to toe the line between behaving herself and getting into trouble and Emma worried that she would try to do so with her in attendance.

And Ruby liked to flirt. Unlike her town reputation and false memories, it never led to anywhere but since Emma thought herself an anomaly while everything else around her was in a constant state of frozen time, she worried that just by being there might trigger something and Ruby might sleep with someone and accidently cheat with whomever their true love was. And there was enough of that going around because Regina liked to mix and match couples but with those, Emma couldn't stop. At least not yet. Oh, but she had a list for what she was going to do when time started moving again. For now, she just sat back and observed.

Her father shrugged it off and didn't care. Her mother encouraged her to take Ruby up on her offer. She had always told her that she needed more female friends to hang out with and she and Ruby hadn't really bonded since she got back.

The problem was that Emma didn't really bond with anyone not in her immediate circle because honestly she felt like she couldn't. They all saw her at different points in her life and while she emotionally matured, they never did. It was easier if someone grew with you but they never did and so she felt withdrawn and alone and one day, so would David.

But she did need to get out and have some time to just relax. Her time was usually spent working or watching over her son. She'd barely seen Graham outside the office for four days because he was busy dealing with the flu thanks to him catching it from her.

So really with no excuse not to, Emma accepted Ruby's offer and the waitress's excitement sort of made Emma look forward to it as well.

Just a little.

"I go too!" David protested as Emma read to him that night. He was a smart kid. He could tell her from her dress that she was about the head out and he thought that meant he was going as well.

"No David, you have to stay and keep Grandpa behaved," Emma said and kissed him on the forehead. It was with great reluctance that she was leaving him by himself when she wasn't working. Her father already watched him enough as it was, "I had to keep him in line when I was little and now it's your turn."

Her son knew she was joking because he smiled, "Mama, you're silly."

"Yes," she hugged her boy, "Mama's silly. Now you be good for grandpa and set an example, okay? He wouldn't know what to do without us."

"Okay," David promised but she knew he probably wasn't even really aware of what she was saying.

"I love you."

"Love you!" David said happily and kissed her cheek.

Emma grabbed her coat and purse on the way downstairs where Ruby was waiting. Rumpelstiltskin was probably in his office so he didn't have to force himself to make small talk and make it awkward for everyone.

"Sorry," Emma said, "Sometimes he's hard to get to sleep."

"Oh that's okay," Ruby put down a photograph that she was looking at. It was Emma's personal favorite and she thought that perhaps it was her father's too. Mary Margaret had taken it. It was a black and white photograph of Rumpelstiltskin holding a year old Emma in his lip. He was smiling radiantly down at her; a truly happy expression on his face. Emma faced him with his tie in one hand, her other hand rested on his wrist as he held her sides to keep her sitting up. There was a genuine quizzical and interested look on her face as she gazed up at him. Emma enjoyed it because it captured their relationship so easily. Next to the photograph was one that Emma had taken about a year ago. It had her father in a suit; it'd been a long day for him so he was sitting on the couch with his elbow resting on the arm of the couch and his head in his hand. He was dozing on and off. David was next to him in a little suit of his own (Rumpelstiltskin liked color coordination; he had her dressed up in little dresses to match his suits when she was little and David was suffering through mini matching suits now). He leaned on his grandfather's side and slept next to him.

Emma smiled at both the photographs, "Hard to believe he might be that big of a softy, huh?"

"Any chance you can get him to soften for us?"

"I've been trying for twenty years," Emma grabbed her purse, "Maybe when David gets older, we'll both learn the puppy eyes and he might actually smile at all of you instead of smirking."

Ruby laughed and grabbed her keys; Emma opened the door to her father's office. He had the new computer dismantled already, well that didn't take long. He was three hundred years old and he still loved learning. Everything this world had to offer, he wanted to learn. Electronics particularly fascinated him, "Dad, I'm going."

"Have fun," He muttered.

"I will," she started to close the door and then opened it again, "And don't…go near my laptop please.'

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"Something's wrong with the car."

Emma tore her gaze from out the passenger window and looked at her friend, "What?"

"It's stalling," Ruby said with a hint of irritation in her voice and she slammed her hand against the steering wheel when it came to a stop, "Gas guzzling tin can."

Oh now that was just barbaric. Emma loved this car herself. She had secret wishes about bringing it over when they all went home, "Pop the hood."

"You know about cars?"

"A little," Emma said and took off her heels, "That yellow Bug I drove here on wasn't exactly in mint condition when I …stol- I mean, found it. We had to learn how to do repairs when we were stranded out in the middle of nowhere."

"David's father," Ruby noted.

Emma froze. She tried not to think about him but the fact of the matter was that his betrayal still hurt even though she'd moved on and found a better man, "Yeah."

"Sorry," Ruby said, "Didn't mean to open that old wound.

"No," Emma climbed out and lifted the hood, "He gave me two good things. Knowledge about cars and David. That's all I can credit him with."

Emma looked down at the car's mechanics…well it didn't seem like anything was wrong but it was dark outside and she'd have to get her flashlight to take a closer look.

"Something wrong, ladies?"

Emma looked up at the sound of Graham's voice and smiled at him, "Hey honey."

He kissed her. Emma slipped her hand into his and squeezed. He took the moment to rest his cheek against her head and hold her while Ruby 'pretended' she wasn't looking, "Problem?"

"Car trouble," she said and turned, "Any chance we can get a lift to the mechanics?"

"Oh, I don't think there is anything wrong with it," he said. Ruby got some kind of cue from him.

"Sorry Emma!" Ruby got in the driver's seat and started the car up. It came to live without any problems and Emma felt confused and then a little livid as Ruby put the car in reverse and backed up.

"What is going on?" Emma turned around and glared at him accusingly, "Are you two trying to get rid of me? In the middle of the woods? Because Jefferson likes slasher movies and I know what _not _to-."

"I love you," he told her.

Emma stopped and blinked, they'd sort of said it to each other since they started dating but the tender happy way he said it now…there was something different, "What?"

"I…want to…I want to spend the rest of my life with you," He smiled and got to one knee.

She felt her heart jump to her throat and hammer there as her mind went a thousand different ways. He was asking her…he was asking her…they were going to do this…they were taking that step. He was taking that step and showing her that he was ready but was she ready as well?

He pulled out a small ring box and opened it. The engagement ring was gorgeous and…sort of looked familiar.

"Will you marry me?" he asked.

Any reservations that she was feeling about the relationship; anything having to do with her doubts and fears about his mental state and Regina were forgotten when she looked into his eyes and saw both him and Graham in there. The hopeful loving tender way he looked at her was similar to the one that her father had when he talked about Belle or Jefferson when he made vague allusions to the wife that he lost.

Emma bit her lip and smiled excitedly at him. She put her hand against her mouth and drew in a couple of breaths, "Yes Huntsman…I'll marry you."

He looked stunned for a second and then stood. Emma wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her torso and they kissed passionately. He pulled back and rested his hand on the side of her face. He gave her three more kisses and buried his face in her shoulder in another embrace.

Emma kissed his temple and pulled back. Her hands found his again, "You did all this for me?"

"Yes," he said, "Ruby helped me…which might explain why it was a bit cliché…"

"We live in a town full of Fairy Tale characters," Emma said, "Clichés come with the territory."

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Graham and Emma met Ruby at the Rabbit Hole where they celebrated the engagement and made an announcement for Sidney to publish.

"Front page," Emma said as Graham took her home, "Last time I was on the front page, I was the trampy teenage mom with a juvie record. I wonder if the subordinate getting engaged to her boss is a step up or a step down."

"You shouldn't read those things," Graham told her, "They're a bit biased."

"Yes, but some of them are incredibly funny," Emma said and looked at the ring on her finger for the hundredth time to make sure it was truly there, "When should we set the date?"

"I don't know, soon though…," he looked a little embarrassed, "That way David has a father and-."

"And because you want me to be Mrs. Graham Humbert," she teased and kissed him as he pulled to a stop, "We'll talk about it in the morning."

"Why on earth did Regina give me that last name," he sighed.

"Perhaps Regina thought by giving you that name, she was scaring off any other female rivals," Emma teased, "I love you."

"I love you as well," he said. Emma smiled and gave him two more kisses before she forced herself out of the car and her hand was gone from his.

Time to tell her father.

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He was still in his office when Emma came home. She opened the door and peeked in to find the computer assembled and him with a perturbed look on his face, "You put it together."

"It won't work," he muttered in the closest thing to despair he would allow himself to get

Emma kept her left hand out of sight as she circled around and rested her head on her shoulder affectionately, "Have you tried turning it on and off again?"

"Do you credit yourself as a comedian?" he asked

"Not usually, but I Like to think I have my moments," she sat on the desk, "Dad…there's something you should know."

"Have you checked on the boy yet?"

"I was about to, but I wanted to talk to you first," she told him. Her father's reactions to her dating Graham were…irregular at best. Sometimes he looked happy for her and sometimes he looked worried. Other times he looked annoyed and angry. Graham had not made the best impression when he first woke up and hurt Emma. She supposed that she should just snap at both him and Jefferson to move on but she knew they did it with the right intentions at heart. Besides, it wasn't like they would listen to her anyway.

"Well, get on with it," her father told her.

Emma swallowed nervously, "Graham asked me to marry him. I told him yes."

Well, she had been hoping to be a bit gentler about saying that but her father would at least appreciate her honesty.

Her father stopped messing with the computer and looked up at her, "You said _yes." _

"Yes."

"When will it be?"

"We haven't decided yet. There's still a lot to figure out."

Her father's expression was…conflicted at best. He looked like every possible emotion that a father could have from dread to happiness to thoughts of sabotage ran through his head.

"Dad?" she asked

He looked at her and his hand found hers, "It will be…very quiet in the house when you and the baby are gone."

Emma looked at her father sadly, "Aw, dad."

He gave her a small smile and stood, "No, don't listen to me. I'm very happy for you. I'm very proud of what you've become despite the examples you've had to put up with. It'll just take me awhile to accept that you're getting to where you don't need me anymore."

"You're my dad," Emma said while feeling insulted, "Of course I'll need you."

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"A month?"

Emma looked at her wandering son rather than focus on Jefferson, "That's what we agreed on."

"You're getting married in a month," he said, "That doesn't seem like a very long time to be engaged."

"You were engaged for five days and you were nineteen when you married," Emma pointed out. When you were my age, you and your wife had a baby on the way."

Jefferson scowled, he made it no secret that he disliked Graham and claimed the fact that him being a good man was 'boring' and there were several other men in town that wouldn't throw her into a bookshelf or chase her in a blind rage when she woke him up from a nightmare (Even though that'd been months ago and it hadn't happened again; Emma wasn't even going to ask how he knew that. She wondered how many telescopes he had trained on the sheriff's station) He called him 'Bookshelf Boy' behind his back. That was alright though; Graham called him 'Shoe Boy" in retaliation.

"I came to invite you to the wedding," Emma said.

"He'll throw me out."

"No he won't. Not if you don't do anything worth getting thrown out for. You're my best friend and I want you there."

Telling him she was getting married had gone a lot better than what she thought it would be. Emma suspected that he'd been watching the entire time. When she came up and told him this morning, he'd been quiet. He offered her a quiet congratulation and asked when the wedding would be.

"HATS!"

The silence was broken as David toddled to the display case in the wall. He pointed excitedly to them and reached up for them eagerly.

Jefferson smiled fondly at the boy and looked at her, "Do you remember…when you wondered off from Mary Margaret when you were three and I found you…and I let you have one of the hats?"

"You wanted me to use my magic on it if I remember correctly," she looked back at them.

"It was too big for your head…slipped right down past it. You thought that was the funniest thing."

"I still kept it, you know."

"Why would you keep something you have no use of?"

"Because one day, I'll have magic," Emma said, "And one day, that's the hat I'm going to use."

"It's no different from all the others."

"Of course it was," Emma protested, "It was your first gift to me."

"HAT!" David pointed again.

Jefferson took a sip of his tea and looked thoughtful, "Should I give him one?"

"If it gets stuck on his little round head then you're pulling it off," Emma told him.

Jefferson stood and moved the glass so that David could pick his favorite. David's immediate action was to run with it on his head the second that Jefferson set him down. The hat threw him off balance and he didn't get three steps before he tumbled.

"Oh," Jefferson winced.

"He'll be fine, he fell on the rug," Emma took another sip.

Jefferson folded his hands together, "Is he at least good with David?"

"Yes," Emma told him, "I think bonding with him is some of how he was able to heal."

Jefferson looked thoughtful, "Well I suppose I'll go to the wedding then, but only if Regina isn't invited."

"Oh Jefferson," Emma said, "She's going to be the only one outside knocking to be let in."

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It would be wasteful of her magic to rip out Emma Gold's heart and crush it to dust while the girl begged for her life. The curse would be broken and the town would come after her and Rumpelstiltskin would flay her alive for killing his pwecious baby girl.

But there they were on today's front cover. In the most…sickening lip lock that Regina had ever seen.

She was just going after Regina's men to spite her now.

It didn't take much of her magic to incinerate the paper on the desk…but it did take a lot of energy to rip apart the room in the angry fit that she threw.

This was supposed to be her happy ending. Not that little…oh, there weren't enough horrible words to say what Emma was.

Pity she didn't tell her men to ride faster when she was going to Charming and Snow's castle just ahead of the curse. Pity she didn't kill Emma when she was a baby and they could've avoided all this.

The door opened and Sidney walked through "Madame Mayor-."

"What?!" she screamed.

He stared down and the mess she made and he realized that she wasn't in the best of moods, "Um…it can wait."

He ran out of the room and Regina stormed to her window and looked out.

Regina wasn't going to let all her hard work be ruined because some little girl who couldn't do anything other than what her father told he to do decided she was going to stop her.

She didn't know how long she stood there, fuming. She spotted Archie walking his mutt, she watched as he stopped and said hello to Graham.

Regina almost turned away in disgust. But business did he have with a twenty year old anyway?

Then something caught her eye. When no he thought no one was looking, his face contorted with pain and he grabbed his chest.

Regina smirked as she put together what was happening.

She had them.

**A/N: I've decided to keep it one story. Mostly because everyone asked. Also because I couldn't find an Emma and Gold image that didn't look like it was a pairing for the sequel. **

** Oh, and Graham's last name really is Humbert. It says so on some things in the box when Rumpel was trying to give Emma some of his things in "Desperate Souls." **


	58. Chapter 58

His little girl was getting married in two weeks.

It was something that Rumpelstiltskin constantly reminded himself as he cleaned and dusted his shop with David trailing him and mimicking his movements in childlike hero worship.

Sometimes Rumpelstiltskin grew comfortable. He told himself that he and Emma and David would have a nice meal when they got home and enjoy the evening playing some game of watching TV. Then he would remind himself that it was all ending soon. In two weeks Emma wouldn't be coming home to him but to Graham and he'd only have his overly large house to return to.

Sometimes he wasn't sure that he was going to be able to handle knowing his daughter was in town but not seeing her in the evenings or mornings. It was selfish, he was quite aware…and in this case he thought he was entitled. At least this selfishness was natural. He'd seen countless other parents go through the same thing.

Oh well, at least he'd see David every day and Emma would have to come pick him up…it just wouldn't be the same.

"Pawpaw!" David whispered in a way that always reminded him too much of Bae's 'papa'.

He looked down to see to his grandson and then followed the boy's gaze to see Emma crossing the street.

Oh good, she picked a time when no one else was in the shop except for them.

Emma opened the door and was immediately greeted by her son barreling into her legs. It was their little game that they'd played together every time she came in. He thought it was fun to slam into her. He'd started it now that he was big enough to wrestle with her when they played. Once he'd tried it on his grandfather too…but Rumpelstiltskin was not as agile as Emma was thanks to his bad leg and went sprawling. The sight of his grandfather hurt on the ground had scared a young David so badly that he cried for two hours and never did it again.

Emma lifted up her boy and tickled him. He squirmed and giggled and kicked the air. Emma sat him back down and he hugged her legs and then was distracted by one of his toys that had rolled out of his play area.

"He's getting heavy," Emma complained

"You'll come to regret not being able to hold him like you have been soon," Rumpelstiltskin said. Even he missed the days when Emma used to cling to his neck and rest her head on his shoulder and just depend solely on him.

Even Emma looked forlorn about the moments that were about to be gone but she quickly snapped out of it, "What did you call me for that was so important that it couldn't wait until I got home."

Rumpelstiltskin sighed and lifted his cane, "You haven't been...schooled in as many traditions of our world as I would've liked for you to be."

"Hard to learn traditions if you can't continue them," Emma said and glanced down at the tea set still in the case. She'd made a point of it to give it to Jefferson once Grace woke up. She waited because if she gave it to him too soon then it'd remind him of what he lost and just hurt him more.

"Yes well," Rumpelstiltskin ran a dust rag over the leather green case that was on top of the glass one, "This one you can actually do."

"What is it?"

"In our world…its tradition for a prince or a soldier to pass down the family sword to his firstborn. Now if it's a boy; then it goes with him if he goes to war if he's a soldier or his coronation if he's a prince. If the firstborn is a girl; then the girl presents the sword to her husband on the wedding day…or afterwards if the father dies later. To pass the weapon on is a sign of passing the torch as this world says and continuing the legacy."

"I'm not sure that passing on your dagger to Graham is going to help anyone."

"It's not the dagger," He opened the case so that Emma could see inside it. When she put it together, her eyes grew.

"What is that?" Emma demanded with an edge in her voice.

He smiled at her and searched her eyes, "It's your father's sword."

Emma exhaled slowly, and looked at him, "I can't accept this. I don't count him as my father, you know that."

"His blood flows in your veins," Rumpelstiltskin told her gently. He'd always felt that her stance on Charming came off as a little harsher than she intended. She understood it wasn't Charming's fault and respected the sacrifice he made to keep her alive but she was always unmoved by her decision that Rumpelstiltskin was her father. No one else. He thought she was so harsh about it because she was afraid that she'd come to love Charming more than prove him right.

"That doesn't make him my father," Emma said, ready to fall into the same argument that they had for years.

"I figured you'd say that," he told her, "Which is why you may wish to think of it like this…I have your father's sword which means it passed to me…obviously. I won it which is how you get swords in our realm and now I'm passing it on to you. The previous owner of the sword just happened to be the man that fathered you. When I said it was your father's sword…you have a choice on who you believe that father to be."

Emma stared him down, her composure cracked and she chewed her thumbnail, clearly conflicted, "If I take it, then it's because you gave it to me. Not because it belongs to him."

"I understand," he replied. He didn't remind her that one day the sword would go to David. And while Emma didn't want her birthright, she didn't mind David having a place in Charming's court when he was old enough; the sword would be proof of his lineage. She wasn't against her parents being royalty; she just didn't see her place in it.

Emma shrugged, "Okay, I'll take it."

"Wonderful," he told her and he secretly wondered if even he bought the idea that he was giving her a sword that belonged to him. Maybe somewhere deep down, he wanted her to have something of her biological father's.

"I have some things to do," Emma said abruptly.

"As do I," Rumpel nodded, "I have to prepare this so that you can give it to Graham after the wedding."

"Oh, so he won't be like…wearing it for no reason to the ceremony or something."

"No, it's usually something done in private," Rumpelstiltskin told her.

"I see," Emma said, "Any special chant I'm supposed to learn?"

"No…you just…give it to him and it's done."

Emma nodded reluctantly, "Thanks dad."

"I'll see you for dinner?" he asked.

"I might be late," Emma called over her shoulder and went through the curtain to say goodbye to her son.

He sighed. 14 more dinners and she was going to be late for one of them.

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Even though it was steady, the loud beeping of the heart monitor attached to her father…her biological father, did nothing to calm Emma's nerves.

Rumpelstiltskin didn't know why Charming was in a coma. He had told her over the years that he just figured the queen's guard had done it and the curse had taken effect before he died so he was sort of stuck in a limbo. Emma had no reason to doubt him, she knew that the book said he sacrificed everything to get her to the wardrobe in order to save her life and the picture in the book showed him cradling her with blood on his shirt.

Was it his blood? Someone else's? She didn't know. Neither did her father.

"I was locked up and insane at the time," he'd told her.

And of course since he'd made his deal to get Emma, whatever would happen to Charming made no difference to him.

Emma didn't know what their relationship was going to be when he came out of this. He would want to be her dad, she understood that but she would have to reject it. It was certainly no fault of Charming's that he couldn't be there for her like Mary Margaret and Rumpelstiltskin, and Emma knew that. She just wasn't sure how she could have a relationship with him as a father figure when they were going to be the same age and he was…here.

Emma looked around the room. She hadn't been here since she was young. Rumpelstiltskin had brought her to see him a few times but the risk of Regina finding out her true identity was far too great and they slowly stopped coming after Emma found out the truth. Emma wondered if perhaps her father was secretly jealous over the relationship that Emma could've had with Charming and viewed him a threat when Emma started asking him questions about her dad.

Oh, he always answered them, but he was usually tense and short with her if she asked too many questions. He'd always been insecure about their relationship…even more so after she ran away.

"Hello father," she said, even the word 'father' and her recognizing him as her biological one felt weird. She wasn't even sure that she had verbally used the word 'father' before for someone other than Charming. She called Rumpelstiltskin 'dad' or 'daddy since she could remember, even after all these years…never 'father' to her recollection. Nothing as cold as that.

She was taking a big risk by being here…anyone could see her and she had places she desperately needed to be, "I just thought you should know…in case they're right when they say coma patients can hear…which I hope you do but I doubt it because you're frozen in time…I just thought you should know that I'm getting married in two weeks. It's supposed to be this big thing because nothing ever happens here… I imagine rumors will be flying when it's done because he's my boss but I don't care really. I'm the savior; I should have some happiness and normalcy before I go do savior things in eight years. That's…not too much to ask, is it?"

_Beep_. _Beep. Beep_

"Well," Emma felt some tears welling in her eyes as she saw the missed opportunity for a relationship that she would never have with him. Not that the one she had with Rumpelstiltskin was bad but sometimes Emma liked to sit and wonder about things that could have been, "That's that then, I should probably go."

She slipped out of the door to her father's room and walked down the hall.

"Ms. Gold," Dr. Whale greeted as she passed him in the entrance of the hospital.

Emma smiled.

"Not for long," she whispered.

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Rumpelstiltskin lifted David and turned the sign over to say that they were closed.

Emma was right, he was getting heavy. David reached out and gripped one end of the sign but Rumpelstiltskin pulled him away. Hang anything on a string and he thought it was a toy.

He was truly going to miss this child when he was out of the house.

The sheriff's car pulled up when he was locking the door. David gave an 'Ooooo!" and tried to squirm out of Rumpelstiltskin's grip. Another favorite game of his was to wrap himself around the Huntsman's ankle and try to make him walk. The Huntsman's flaws aside, he did have to respect the man for his treatment of Emma and David. He understood that the man truly did love Emma and her son.

He just didn't have to care for him otherwise. He wished Emma had picked someone better who could provide more than just an apartment and a leather coat for when she got cold.

"I'm sorry Sheriff, but I'm closing," he told the Huntsman as he walked up.

"We have to talk," the Huntsman said.

"Gam!" David said impatiently and tried to squirm away again.

"What about?" Rumpelstiltskin asked. If this was whether or not he approved of the union or not, Rumpelstiltskin was going to send him on his way and go home.

"Something's wrong," Graham said and nodded down to his chest.

Rumpelstiltskin understood immediately. He had been dreading this and he'd been watching out for it but the Huntsman had never given anything away to what he and Jefferson could see.

"Perhaps we can talk," Rumpelstiltskin said for the benefit of listening ears and unlocked the door, "And I can see if I can be of assistance."

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Emma knocked on her mother's door and bounced nervously while she waited for her mother to open the door.

Mary Margaret opened it and Emma could smell the chili from here.

Oh, she loved chili but she knew her father was holding onto the last few dinners they had left and so when Mary Margaret was going to offer, Emma would have to decline.

"Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

"Sure," Mary Margaret said and opened the door, "Come in."

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For some reason, the buttons on Graham's vest fascinated David and he kept trying to pick them off as Graham held him in his lap. He poured out the details of the pains he was experiencing and how they were beginning to cripple him.

"You never told us," Rumpelstiltskin accused.

"I thought that it was the price I had to pay for getting my heart restored. I thought that I could handle it but it's getting worse. The pains are coming faster and they're getting worse…this past week I have been drugged on pain pills because when I wake up, I'm in so much pain that I can't move. What's wrong with me?"

"It could be many things," Rumpelstiltskin said with a sigh, "We did the research but something could've gone wrong. Magic is unpredictable here…it may be that your body is rejecting the heart because of that. Or perhaps I didn't have enough magic to restore your heart like I thought I did…."

Graham's expression started to crumble as he processed this.

Rumpelstiltskin felt a pang in his chest that felt like regret. He honestly felt bad for the Huntsman, "I'm so sorry…"

"Is there nothing that you can do?"

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head, "I just barely have my magic. Nothing that could save you."

A tear slipped down, "What'll happen?"

Rumpelstiltskin bit his lip, "The pain will get worse from now…you may be in a constant state of agony in six months and nothing will soothe the pain. I'm sorry Graham. I truly am. You deserve better than this."

Graham was silent…David smiled up at him, "Daddy!"

Graham's expression crumbled then. Emma had been trying to teach him to call Graham that for two weeks. He grabbed the boy in his lap and held him close for several minutes, "Would it have made a difference if I'd come to you earlier?"

"It would not; at the very least you would've just made Emma watch you suffer longer" Rumpelstiltskin looked at his own clasped hands, "Would you like me to tell her?"

"No," Graham whispered. He was trying to avoid a breakdown, "No, I'll tell her. I'll tell her right now. Where is she?"

"More than likely with her mother."

Graham nodded and reluctantly handed David back to Rumpelstiltskin, "Keep your phone on. She'll need you."

Rumpelstiltskin doubt that Emma would even think of him until later.

She'd be distracted by him needing her.

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How come these words were so hard to form in Emma's mind? Maybe it was because Emma had never expected to be here…or maybe it was because this was her mother…or maybe it was the chili that was tempting her.

"Would you like something to eat?" Mary Margaret asked.

"No," Emma declined politely, "I just wanted to stop by and ask a question."

"Okay," Mary Margaret said and wiped down the counter.

"I would…like you…," Emma's throat went dry, "To be my maid of honor at my wedding."

Mary Margaret blinked, "Me?"

"You may have to fight Ruby for the bouquet though…I told her that I'd throw it in her direction if she was a bridesmaid. I think she would've done it anyway but she was trying to get the bouquet deal."

Mary Margaret ran over and threw her arms around Emma. Emma was taken aback and returned the gesture and held her mother tightly.

"Yes, I'll be your maid of honor."

Emma pulled back and smiled excitedly at her mom, "I'm getting married."

"Yes you are," Mary Margaret said and took her daughter's hand.

Emma wiped an excited tear from her eyes, "Would you like to see my dress? It was finished today."

"I would love to," Mary Margaret told her.

Emma gave her mother's hand a squeeze and ran downstairs to get it from her car.

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Graham waited at the light impatiently and held his hand over his chest…he hated this light just like everyone else did. He and Emma used to joke that they could fill out a report and this light still wouldn't turn.

Emma….

He turned the car off and stepped out of it. Why did he do that? Maybe he just needed some air before he confessed and broke his fiancé's heart.

What were they going to do?

There was the sound of clicking heels beside him and he turned his head to see Regina walking down the middle of the road.

"Hello Sheriff," she purred and he felt the blood drain from his face and his heart begin to hammer as the memories he'd been trying to so hard to get over came rushing back. Regina was here and he was alone, all the business was closed this time of evening, the street was abandoned, "Car trouble?"

"No Madame Mayor," he said, "Just felt overheated."

"Overheated?" she asked, "Or unable to control what you just did?"

"I don't understand."

"Did you honestly think that you could get your memories back and I wouldn't know about it?" she demanded.

He started to protest and lie but she dug her hand in his chest and he lost his footing and fell back against the car as her hand sank unnaturally into his chest. He started gasping in pain and fear as she ripped out his heart and the fear and pain that he'd experienced all those years ago came rushing back.

"Gods no.

Regina examined it, "I've always found it so odd…, that for its importance, it's so fragile…it may have such strong defenses surrounding it but…get it by itself and it's so fragile."

"Don't," The Huntsman said.

"Sort of like you when Jefferson, Emma, and her father aren't around," Regina sneered and crushed the heart. Graham winced in phantom pains and gave a cry of terror as it turned to ash. He sank down to the ground and expected death to take him…

But nothing happened.

"Well, now that you're useful again..." Regina said and brushed her hands against each other, "Pity about the fisherman but...sometimes those that are expendable need to be sacrificed, I suppose."

He struggled to his knees, ready to pounce on her now that relief…or the better term 'numbness' took him.

They'd given him the wrong heart.

So that meant that….

Regina reached into her pocket and pulled out another heart faster than he could get over his pain and attack her, "Stand up."

He fought his body but he had no control.

Regina smirked, "We're going on a little drive."


	59. Chapter 59

Graham's couldn't understand his heart hammered in his chest even though it currently sat beating in Regina's hand.

Perhaps it was phantom pains.

In Regina's hand, his heart beat so rapidly that it nearly fell out of Regina's clenched hand. She sneered at it and watched him. She knew that he was afraid and her silence was just the salt that she felt was needed in that open wound.

He was forced to drive around town for a little while…he wasn't sure how long. His body was rigid thanks to Regina's controlling. HE couldn't take his eyes off the road.

"Did you honestly think that I wouldn't find out?" she finally asked.

He wanted to respond but he found that he couldn't. His heart started beating faster in her hands; earning him another vicious smirk

He was going to die. His mind flashed back to all those times that she stripped him of all the control that a human being should have

Regina gave him a glare, "I knew the second I saw your face tense with pain and you put your hand over your chest. I knew immediately that you remembered. I honestly couldn't believe they'd resort to that…restoring your heart. I suppose it makes sense though…best place to hide a tool is in the shed in plain sight so to speak…which does make sense considering that's all you'll be to them."

"Emma loves me," he said when she let him have his voice.

"Emma's just looking for someone to be a father to the baby and that is safe enough to sleep with when she gets bored," Regina hissed, "Any face will do. As long as it's not the Mad Hatter's. I've seen her coming down that hill in the morning. I suppose he's good enough but not exactly marrying material."

Except Emma and Jefferson weren't like that. Emma had promised him that she understood the importance of being loyal to one's spouse and hinted that Rumpelstiltskin had certainly taught her the importance of that. She stayed the night sometimes to get away but they would never…go there. He wanted to tell her as much but his voice was taken from him again.

"Look what I gave you," Regina hissed, "A place at my court, a place of honor in my guard…a place of honor here and I asked for little. This is how you thank me? What did Emma give you? Double personalities…a heart that wasn't yours thanks to their ignorance…She put you in pain for over a year. I just saved you from that too and you don't even grovel for my forgiveness like you should. She's a child, Graham. And you're far too old for her. You all are. She's an infatuation and you only stay by her side because of loyalty. One day you're going to wake up and realize that you only cared about her because she was a pretty little thing but by then it'll be too late. You married Rumpelstiltskin's daughter, do you think you'll possibly be able to escape _that_ when you realize when you realize what a mistake she is? When you realize that the child she takes care of isn't yours, it's someone else's? What could she possibly give you?"

It was then that Graham saw that he did not have to be afraid of her or the threat that she held. He understood that he wasn't going to leave this car alive so as the fear subsided, he saw how petty she was being and the lives that were going to suffer because of that pettiness and suddenly he didn't feel as afraid….

"She gave me my life," he replied without flinching, "She unlocked the cage and gave me a purpose."

"You had a purpose."

"I had an existence," he told her, "I never had a purpose after you put me through what you did."

Regina's face twisted and she began to squeeze the heart. He gave a cry in agony and slumped against the wheel as he prepared for death to take him. His foot was forced to slow the car down so that Regina could finish him off.

"No," Regina said and loosened her grip, "You're still useful. Sit up."

His body forced him to comply.

"What are you going to do to me?" he demanded. If Regina _was _going to allow him to get out of his car then she was going to be controlling him at all times.

He'd rather take the death.

Regina looked contemplative, "I've been looking to get rid of Emma for a while in a way that won't get me a visit by Rumpelstiltskin. Perhaps you've given me an opportunity."

Graham paled, "Please…"

"But not now…everyone's paying too much attention to her now to notice if something happened," Regina didn't bother to hide the sneer in her voice, "Princess Emma getting the royal treatment every one of you seems to think she deserves. But there are other ways to hurt her I suppose."

He wanted to demand what she was talking about but he said nothing.

"After all, you and I have two weeks before you and she make it official."

The old fears returned then. The memories of what she put him through because he showed mercy…the emotions that he went through then…especially the pain and wishes for death even though he never wanted to die at her hand….

"Don't hurt them," he begged, "Please."

"Oh Graham…you don't have a choice," she replied, "And when I decide when it's best, you'll get her alone and strangle the life out of her."

Graham's palms started to sweat. He wanted to beg for her life but he knew that Regina wouldn't listen to that, "Rumpelstiltskin will know….

"Oh, not to worry," she coo'd, "Rumpelstiltskin trusts you so it won't be that hard to kill him too. Of course then that means that you won't be useful to me anymore but…now you know what happens when you put an imp's worthless daughter over me in an attempt to get a happy ending that none of you deserved in the first place."

A tear slipped down his face. He wanted to scream and refuse. He wanted to fight her but his own body was betraying him and the liberties such as speaking and breathing could easily be controlled by her

"Smile Graham," she said with a faux cheerfulness in her voice, "You're getting married in two weeks."

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It was the first time since Emma had tried to dress on since it was complete and she thought that she looked gorgeous in it…far prettier than she ever thought that she could. The Mermaid Strapless Long Sleeve Floor-length Lace Chiffon wedding dress hugged her body in all the right places and when she came out of the bathroom to show her mother, the awed look that her mother gave only served to make Emma more excited that she'd be wearing this again in two weeks.

"Emma, you look beautiful!" Mary Margaret said and circled her, "Even the train is just….it's so gorgeous."

Emma nodded, "Everything's going to be perfect."

"Well nothing's ever perfect, Emma," her mother scolded her teasingly.

"I have a beautiful dress…and have you as my maid of honor and I have my father walking me down the aisle and I have Graham…Everybody thinks that the idea of perfection are these big expensive weddings but they're not. Having all this…it's all I need for it to be perfect. I know how cheesy it sounds but…it's honestly true"

Her mother smiled and wrapped her arms around her. Emma returned the embrace and held her mother tightly to her chest.

"Oh!" Mary Margaret exclaimed and pulled away, "I don't want to mess up your dress."

"No, you didn't mess it up," Emma said and looked down, "It's fine."

Mary Margaret checked her over, gave an excited squeal, and grabbed her wrists, "I want to see you in your veil!"

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The Huntsman knew that the only way that he was going to leave this car was because Regina allowed him to. And the only way she was going to allow it to happen was if she was confident that she could control him to kill Emma.

HE wished that he could resist. He wished that if she let go of his heart then it relinquished control but it didn't. She knew a spell that allowed her control far after she put the heart away in her vault.

He would never be able to tell Emma that he loved her…never again without him knowing that her days were numbered before she died at his hands.

And so he made a plan…for Emma, for the man that raised her and for David…it was a wild plan…one that might not work but he couldn't leave this car tonight while knowing what she planned. It was be too late after that.

"If I do this…," he started, "Would you consider letting me live."

"You don't have a choice," Regina replied.

"But if I didn't try to kill you afterwards and I never disobeyed you again…you would let me live?"

"If I kept you alive then it would be to resume our previous activities and by then you'll have been with Emma and who knows where she's been since she got out there. The girl had to survive somehow and I've never bought that her baby's father just abandoned her like she claimed.

He fought the urge to punch her for that but he was too busy trying to stay one step ahead of her, "Who else would you have for eternity? Sidney Glass?"

Regina seemed disgusted at that, "If you don't try to fight me or run away again…I might consider allowing you to live."

He felt her hold on his body loosening.

Regina looked at him with a vicious smirk, "Shall we seal the deal?"

He leaned forward voluntarily and she let him have more control of his body when she realized that he wasn't going to fight her. However, she kept enough control to make sure he didn't break her neck.

He was going to die on his own terms.

He slammed his foot on the accelerator and the car roared to life. Regina jerked in surprise at the sound of the roaring engine and the squealing tires and as they raced towards the tree. She pulled out his heart to try and control him to stop but it was too late now.

The impact seemed to happen in slow motion but he didn't feel it. When Regina was thrown forward, her hand accidently squeezed his heart and he knew he would be dead before the steering wheel was slammed into his chest.

He had protected his family. Perhaps one day…Emma would know the sacrifice that he'd made and he prayed that she would know how much he truly loved her.

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Regina was shaking when she pulled her face away from the airbag and looked around. She allowed herself to process what happened for a brief second and cursed.

He'd lied to her. He'd tricked her and this was what she got for her trouble in agreeing to keep him alive. She extended him a mercy and he spit in her face.

And another opportunity was wasted

Regina struggled to open the passenger door and looked at the slumped figure in the seat next to her. He wasn't moving.

Well at least she had robbed Emma of that.

She heard a car in the distance and struggled out of the seatbelt. IF she was found in the car then Rumpelstiltskin would know…he'd tell Emma and they'd kill her for this. Rumpelstiltskin knew how it felt to lose a loved one because of her interference…or at least he thought Belle was gone. He wouldn't allow Regina to live after she contributed to the death of someone his precious baby girl loved.

Her nose was broken at least. She fell out of the car and gasped in agonizing pain when she landed. One leg was broken…she could feel at least two ribs sticking out of her skin and God knew how many others were hurt.

She dragged herself to the edge of the forest and allowed her to roll down the hill and slide out of sight as soon as the first started to arrive.

If she didn't help herself now then they would find out about her involvement later.

She barely had enough magic left, but she managed to heal herself and as more people gathered to the scene, she listened to them panic about the sheriff being in the car and their horror that Graham was now dead.

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Emma zipped up her wedding dress and hung it on the hook so that it wouldn't wrinkle. She smiled at it again and turned to her mother, "I really do need to be going."

"So soon?" Mary Margaret sighed, "It feels like we barely hang out anymore."

"Well…you're going to get your wish for the next two weeks." Emma told her, "You have to help me with the wedding stuff."

Her phone buzzed in her jeans and she pulled it out. It was her father. Probably wondering where she was…Emma couldn't say she blamed him, they'd lost track of time, "Sorry dad, I'm coming home s-."

"Emma," her father said, "Something's happened."

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Rumpelstiltskin watched as they lifted Graham out of the car and into the body bag that was waiting. He stayed next to the car because David was sleeping in the car seat. If he got any closer…if he saw any more of the damage then he might break down himself.

He'd gotten the call because Emma had left her work phone at the pawn shop when he presented her the sword. He was more than happy that he'd gotten the call so that he could tell her instead of some dispatcher.

This was his fault. Graham was in agony, lost control, and slammed into the tree and it was all because they had made a gamble with his wife.

Everyone whispered in their little groups; he heard sobs and he knew most of their eyes were on him. Some waited for any hint of emotion in his eyes but he gave them no show. Inside his mind he was screaming at the top of his lungs.

One moment of happiness, could they not have that? He may not have wanted Emma to stay but….not like this. This was Belle all over again.

Mary Margaret's jeep pulled up and Emma raced out of the passenger side before it could even come to a stop. She was pale and her eyes were welling up…

Oh gods, she didn't need to see this.

"Emma, don't make yourself see-" he tried to intercept her but she raced past him.

One of the paramedics also tried to grab her. She struggled against him and finally broke away, "Pull it down!"

The other one didn't argue and complied. He moved to stand by Emma's side. He couldn't see her face but he could see her shoulders begin to weigh down, "No…no he's not-."

He was dead. Because of them.

"He's not dead!" Emma cried, "Graham, wake up. It's going to be okay. You're okay, …you can wake up. Graham."

She was shaking him and crying by the time Rumpelstiltskin reached her, "Emma…he's gone."

"No!" she sobbed, "No, you're wrong. He's okay. He's going to be fine"

They began to take him away and she clung to the gurney. Rumpelstiltskin wrapped his arm around her waist gently and pulled her away. Emma fought against him but he held his stance when Mary Margaret came forward and helped him. He saw in the light of the sirens that she was crying as well.

"Emma," he whispered, "I'm sorry."

Emma fought and cried for several seconds more before he finally felt the fight drain out of her and with wails and sobs she sank down to the ground. Rumpelstiltskin and her mother could only hold her.

And he knew that this was entirely avoidable.


	60. Chapter 60

It was the morning after the accident…Graham's funeral was scheduled to take place in two days according to Mary Margaret.

Emma said nothing.

The night it happened Rumpelstiltskin had to drag her away from the body of the man she loved. Love wasn't easy…most of the time it ended before it started and Rumpelstiltskin could testify to that.

He'd seen it happen to others and couldn't care less but it was different when it happened to his daughter. She'd been inconsolable that night. She originally jerked away every time he comforted her but when he got in the driveway, she finally allowed him to hold her as she sobbed and clung to him.

When he got her in the house, she curled up on the window seat. Rumpelstiltskin put David to bed and went downstairs to sit with her. He expected more breakdowns but she had gone…catatonic now. She'd cried until the tears stopped and now she just stared blankly ahead out the window.

Rumpelstiltskin did not know what to do. He didn't know what to say to her. He didn't know how to comfort her over something like this. He couldn't tell her how he got over Belle's death because he honestly never had and she'd see right through the lies.

So he just sat with her throughout the night. He wasn't even sure that she recognized that he was there but he wasn't going to leave her now. She cried off and on until morning but they were more silent tears now.

They watched the sun rise together but he wasn't sure how much of it Emma actually saw.

"I should go to the hospital," she whispered, "Get the arrangements started."

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head, "You don't want to see him like that, Emma."

"I'm his fiancé," she said…he noticed that she didn't use past tense yet and that told him all he needed to know about her mindset, "I should make sure that we bury him in a nice place."

Her eyes were large and glassy and swollen. Rumpelstiltskin forced himself to swallow the large lump in his throat. She was the savior…which meant that one day she would have to stand on her own two feet and he would have to trust her to make the hard decisions when there was no right way to do things…she would make mistakes and choices would cost her and she'd have to learn to make them…

The choices they made already cost her though. And she was not the savior. Not yet. She was only a 20 year old girl still. She just lost someone she loved. She shouldn't be forced to plan his funeral yet.

He could do this one thing for her. He could at least do his best to make this right since it was his fault that the Huntsman was gone.

"I'll make sure he's buried in a nice place," Rumpelstiltskin promised her and gave her a gentle kiss to her temple.

Emma drew in a sharp breath, "Was this our fault?"

He drew in a breath, "Emma…"

"Because nothing's supposed to change. Everything's a constant except for me…I change things…I mess them up more than I Make them right…so the Huntsman being dead…is somehow my fault."

"Emma don't do this to yourself. Especially now…"

"Dad…if you don't tell me then it's going to fester and that'll make it worse…please just tell me."

Rumpelstiltskin hated himself then. He hated bending so easily to Emma that he promised that he'd be honest with her if she came home. She would hold him to that now and the truth was going to cut Emma far deeper than anything that he'd ever done to her.

"Emma…we couldn't have known."

"When we restored his heart…we did this?" her voice was hoarse when she asked and dread came over her face.

"There were several risks involved…"

"Why now?" Emma demanded through her tears, "Did it just happen?"

"He was having pains for a while…"

Emma gave him an angry accusing look, "Did you know?"

He drew in a breath, "When we first restored his heart…I had a suspicion that something might be wrong but he was holding his chest and it was right afterwards so I thought it was him adjusting. I did not find out until last night that those pains had continued for over a year."

Emma wiped her eyes angrily, "Why didn't he tell us?"

"He had a lot to deal with, Emma. You remember how it was for him."

Tears fell down her face again and she looked back out the window. He watched as she drew her legs up to her chest, "Thank you for being honest."

He saw immediately what she was doing. Closing herself off like she'd seen him do so many times growing up. At first he wanted to discourage it but he knew that it might make it worse. He needed to be there for her "I wish I didn't have to be."

"I know," she whispered and rested her cheek on her knee.

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At eleven in the morning, Rumpelstiltskin answered his door to find Mary Margaret standing on the porch. He saw that she'd been crying as well, "Hello Ms. Blanchard."

"Mr. Gold," Mary Margaret wiped a tear from her face, "Very long day…"

"Indeed," he muttered.

"I um…I came to see how Emma's doing."

He shut the door slightly, "She hasn't eaten and she's been…just sitting there all morning. I'm not sure what to do. Perhaps you should talk to her."

"I don't know…"

"I need to get the funeral arrangements started so that Emma doesn't have to," Rumpelstiltskin told her, "But I don't want Emma alone. I want her to be with someone that can…that can support her…like you can right now."

He didn't give her the opportunity to argue. He knew she wouldn't though. She'd do anything for her daughter figure, especially now.

Rumpelstiltskin moved into the room, Emma had gone quiet again. The afternoon sun began to warm the window and her face.

"Emma," Rumpelstiltskin said and sat down. He was reluctant to touch her in fear that he might set her off emotionally again and he didn't want to leave her alone if she began crying, "I have to…start on arrangements."

Emma looked up sharply, "I'm coming with you."

She didn't understand what she was asking. She may have seen a glimpse of his face last night but…to see it in that hospital…to let that reality sink in…he wasn't ready to let her go that far yet, "I'm not sure that's wise."

Her green eyes flashed angrily. What a time to feel challenged, "I'm his fiancée, it's my job to-."

He put his hand on hers, "I'm just going to start on arrangements. I promise that everything for the funeral to flowers to placement will be planned by you. But let me at least get all the legalities started. I promise to be back very soon."

She reluctantly let him go and he kissed the top of her head, with a final squeeze of her hand; he went to his car.

While wondering if perhaps he was leaving her too soon.

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It wasn't necessarily a numbness that Emma felt but more that her insides were just completely frozen while her heart was being ripped out of her chest and squeezed painfully at the same time…it hurt to move, it hurt to breathe…it hurt to think…each heartbeat added even more weight and Emma fell more and more under the pressure.

Graham wasn't here anymore and it was difficult to let that sink in…he wasn't going to pop up and take her to dinner or slip his hand under the table to hold hers where the cameras at the police station that Regina manned couldn't see. He wasn't going to be at his home counting down the days till they got married.

There was going to be no wedding.

Everything was shattered. Tears fell down her face when she could summon them but other times it was just easier to distance herself by staring at the backyard and pretending that eventually she was going to wake up.

It was one in the afternoon and she hadn't yet.

David was in her lap. She wasn't sure when he crawled up there but he'd brought his crayons and paper with him. He used her knee as a hard surface so that he could color. Emma tried to focus on what he was telling her but she just couldn't…

Everything hurt.

So Emma closed herself off to the pain and chose to focus on the backyard again.

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Mary Margaret tried to comfort her. She told her that it was okay to grieve…that the emotions she was feeling were very natural but she needed to eat. She told her that David wasn't leaving her side but Emma already knew that. Every time Mary Margaret tried to pull him away, he'd scream for Emma and Mary Margaret had to set him down.

Emma could really use a mother right now. Not _her _mother, Emma knew she wasn't going to get that. But she would settle for _a _mother and Mary Margaret had always fallen in between the two.

"Did anyone you ever know die?" Emma asked. She knew it'd be fake but to delve into fantasy…maybe that would make it better. Maybe she was just trying to keep from facing reality

"My father did sometime before you came along…my mother died years ago when I was a child."

"I'm sorry," Emma whispered. She supposed Regina wouldn't take away those sorts of memories if they caused Snow pain.

"Yeah sometimes it felt like my father was the only one that understood me," Mary Margaret said, "And then he was gone and it just felt like I was alone against the world with no one to turn to."

"How did it get easier?" Emma asked.

Mary Margaret smiled through her tears, "Mr. Gold brought me you."

Emma gripped her mother's hand as tightly as she could. She had always been close to her mother but Emma had made sure there was just a bit of distance because it was hard to look at her mother's face and see a different woman.

But perhaps there was more of her mother in Mary Margaret than Emma or Rumpelstiltskin had ever taken the time or risk to see.

"Oh Emma," Mary Margaret said through her tears, "I know that it hurts but it'll get easier, I promise."

Emma wasn't sure how that would be possible. To be honest, unless it was because of her son, Emma wasn't sure how she could ever bring herself to smile again.

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With Mr. Gold gone, people found the courage to stop by with gifts and flowers and condolences. Mary Margaret took them graciously and thanked them but she wouldn't allow them to see Emma. Not even Ruby got that privilege.

"She's having a hard time and doesn't want to see anyone," Mary Margaret whispered, "Maybe later…thank you for coming by."

At every knock at the door, Emma held her son tighter in her lap. She tried to focus on him to get her mind off her thoughts but he was still young and so the conversations were short lived.

Sidney climbed over the fence. Emma felt her blood run cold when he knocked on the window and mouthed if she would like to give an interview.

Mary Margaret had seen the trespassing as well and stormed to the kitchen. Next thing Emma knew, she saw a large splash of water and ice cubes land on Sidney. Mary Margaret's angry screams and an empty bucket followed Sidney back over the fence.

"Sorry about that," Mary Margaret said and cleared her throat, "I figured he'd resort to something like that when I threatened to slam the door in his face twice."

David was laughing and clapping his hands in approval at the show he got. Emma watched her for a second and then ran a hand through her boy's hair as he doubled over laughing still.

There was definitely more of her mother in Mary Margaret than she ever would've recognized.

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Rumpelstiltskin returned shortly after. There were some whispers in the front. Emma looked up when her father came into the room. She could see the funeral brochures in his hand. He even looked uncomfortable holding them, "Emma?"

She glanced at those brochures and tensed…a final resting place…and then they'd stick him in the ground to rot and it'd be over….

Her father must've seen some kind of expression in her eyes because he put them on the table next to Emma, "You don't have to look at them now, I know how raw that pain still is…but your decisions need to be made by the end of tomorrow. If you like, we can go over it together."

Emma stared blankly at the brochures and information books. She needed to go through them...but that finality would hit her and she wasn't sure if she could get it done.

She had until the end of tomorrow. That was a lot of time, right?

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Mary Margaret stayed and assisted Rumpelstiltskin in making dinner. Emma heard her offer to spend the night but Rumpelstiltskin declined the offer. Mary Margaret's reputation always walked a fine line thanks to her association with the Gold family. Now was not a good time for it to be tarnished completely.

Mary Margaret snapped that she didn't care about her reputation but Rumpelstiltskin was adamant about it. He didn't say it out loud but Emma guessed it was because Rumpelstiltskin did want some more time with Emma alone. Maybe he thought that she'd open up more if it was just them.

They argued quietly in the kitchen for the better part of half an hour before dinner was served. Mary Margaret looked angry so Emma guessed that Rumpelstiltskin won.

Emma tried but she couldn't summon an appetite. Her mother tried to persuade her to eat just a little but her father just waited. He gave her a look of understanding. Mary Margaret looked concerned and sad and a little scared for her.

But Emma would eat when she was ready.

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Mary Margaret left very reluctantly and promised Emma that she'd be back tomorrow afternoon.

It got to be near David's bedtime; Rumpelstiltskin started to get up but Emma lifted up her son and took him upstairs to bathe and get ready for bed.

She could at least do that.

"Mama, I love you," he whispered sweetly when she got him in the covers.

Emma closed her eyes and braced herself against the pains and kissed her son on the forehead, "I love you too, David."

She stayed with him until she fell asleep.

When she started to go downstairs, she heard voices downstairs. When she got to the living room, both her father and Jefferson stood. She saw that he held his hat in hands. He hadn't been crying like Mary Margaret had but he did look hurt.

"I'll give you two some time to speak," her father said and left to go to his office

Jefferson fiddled with his hat, "I would've come sooner."

"Why didn't you?" Emma demanded. She tried not to be angry but she really could've used her best friend today of all days and he wasn't there.

"I came to spend the night. You had plenty of support for the day…the night is worse. At night you have time to think…the nightmares come then and you wonder all the things that you could've done differently. When my wife died…."

He hesitated and Emma dropped her gaze. He didn't talk about his wife much. There was a lot about his past that she only knew fragments of.

"When my wife died," he said, pushing through the obvious pain, "Nighttime was always the worst. Shadows play tricks on your mind…you wake up and reach for the side of the bed and find it empty and for a few seconds you think that they're alive but then it all comes crashing down on you and you lay there stunned."

Emma watched him, "Will the pain go away?"

"It'll lessen some," he told her, "But I don't think it ever goes away."

Emma felt her eyes fill with tears, "I loved Neal and he abandoned me and I had Graham-… I thought that the eleven month prison stay was punishment for running away but what if this was too?"

"Emma, you can't think like that. And you know it's not true."

"It was because of us, Jefferson," she told him, "Everything that happened was our fault. How am I supposed to live with myself knowing that it's my fault?"

Jefferson's face crumbled slightly, "You may have contributed but he didn't pass because of you."

"He did," Emma said, "It's all because of me and the worst part of it is that I never noticed…all day I've thought of the signs that he displayed and I should've known that something was wrong but I never did."

"Sitting there thinking about what should've been done isn't going to do anything but make you bitter Emma."

"What else am I supposed to do?" she demanded through tears, "I destroy everything I touch. It all gets worse because of me. He'd be alive right now if I hadn't interefered"

"And look at the life he would've had if you hadn't," Jefferson pointed out, "You're speaking in grief now…and you know it's not the truth."

"It is!" she argued, "You know it is. We tried to save him and now he's gone because of us! It's our fault. You tell me that I'm supposed to be the savior and I couldn't even save one person that I loved! How am I supposed to save hundreds that I barely even know?!"

"Emma," he tried to put a hand on her arm. She jerked away, "Emma, this wasn't your fault."

What was the point of believing him and lying to herself? Oh she wanted to believe it more than anything but they all knew better. If she had just left well enough alone…if she had just focused on being a savior instead of trying to secure a family then none of this would've happened.

"Just leave me alone for now, _please,_" Emma whispered and ran up to her room.

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Rumpelstiltskin could hear the raised voices from the other side but he tried not to listen in.

He tried to tell himself that Emma going through the feelings of anger was good. It was a healthy emotional response and better than the catatonic one that she'd been going through all day. It was good that she was getting the emotions out of her system.

But he'd seen Emma angry…and things hadn't even nearly come to a head yet. She was still beginning to get through it.

Jefferson came into the office without knocking and ignored the scowl from Rumpelstiltskin, "She's up in her room."

"Maybe she'll get some sleep," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"Her being up there by herself trying to sleep is what I wanted to avoid," Jefferson muttered and then grew indignant when he saw the disapproving look that Rumpelstiltskin managed to give him, "Not like that! I was just going to sit with her."

"Did you find out anything?" Rumpelstiltskin demanded.

Jefferson shrugged, "It's like you said, she blames herself because _you _told her."

"She would find out eventually," Rumpelstiltskin said, "Better it was from me."

Jefferson looked solemnly at him, "Is it our fault that he's dead?"

Rumpelstiltskin hesitated. It'd been something that he was living with all day and he was still hesitant to tell Emma even though she more than likely already guessed, "They did an autopsy and found that he had suffered what looked like a heart attack. It was their judgment that he had the heart attack, lost control of the car and crashed his automobile."

"So if it was because he was having chest pains then it was our fault."

"More than likely."

Jefferson sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "He didn't deserve that ending."

"No, he deserved to be happy," Rumpelstiltskin agreed, "No matter what our initial impressions of him were, he was very good to Emma and David."

Jefferson squirmed ever so slightly but Rumpelstiltskin noticed it, "And so here we are, an old imp and a portal jumper who lost those very near and dear to us because of our own choices…and we know exactly what Emma feels…why is it then so hard to help her?"

"Because other than your daughter, you had no one to turn to and neither did I," Rumpelstiltskin told him regrettably, "So it's not like we can draw from that kind of experience. We can only help her through this as best as a former monster and a reforming monster can."

"Is that all?"

"Of course not," Rumpelstiltskin put the town charter on his desk, "The sheriff's position will fall to Emma now, despite her young age she has experience. She'll want to keep the position for Graham's memory and I think it'd be wise for her to have it…"

"I hear a 'but' coming in…"

"Regina will try to take it from her."

"And you want us to try and figure a way to get Emma to keep it?"

"I wanted to discuss this with her after the funeral but to be honest the faster we come up with a plan to make sure she stays in the position, the better."

"Well a lot of people like Emma, it shouldn't be that hard."

"No, a lot of people are familiar with Emma. The surname she carries also brings fear and doubt to those who don't want to know her and unfortunately the sins of my former self have fallen on her as you well know. Regina's intimidation also carries a threat. So you and I…Mr. March are going to find a way to make sure Emma stays exactly where she is."

Jefferson looked disturbed for a second, "You know…your daughter's fiancé died less than 24 hours ago."

"I am quite aware."

"That doesn't bother you…you just seem…cold to it."

"It does bother me," Rumpelstiltskin said without giving away emotions, "But the best way to get through it is to work. Are you going to help me?"

"Sure," Jefferson grabbed a pen, "What should we do?"

"Well that's what we're here to figure out."

Jefferson shrugged, "People hate you more than they hate Regina. We could always stage it to look like she publicly turns against you."

"Don't be absurd," Rumpelstiltskin said angrily, "The biggest advantage Emma has that Regina does not is her family values and loyalties."

Jefferson doodled a hat on a piece of paper, "You do realize that Regina will drag Emma through all kinds of things to get one over on her."

"Something else that I am aware of."

"And do you think that she's prepared for that?"

"No," Rumpelstiltskin told him honestly, "But the decision will be up to her and if she chooses to pursue it then I'm going to stand behind her doing what I do best…"

"Manipulating everything and everyone to your advantage."

"Yes," Rumpelstiltskin said, "We may not have been able to do anything for Graham but we can still do something about this."

"He would want it for Emma," Jefferson agreed.

"Indeed," Rumpelstiltskin muttered.

"Yeah," Jefferson said quietly and together they tried to dissect the town charter

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Jefferson had been right.

The mental and emotional exhaustion had allowed Emma to fall asleep quickly but she suffered from dreams…they weren't nightmares in the real sense but dreams of her seeing Graham and him holding her and kissing her…the dreams of the wedding…only to wake up and for a brief second think that he was waking up elsewhere only to be reminded of reality.

Emma threw her covers off and climbed out of the bed. She got dressed and came downstairs. Her father had files on the dining room table…important business ones that were neatly organized.

Emma also noticed that Jefferson was asleep. She didn't notice him at first because his head was on the dining room table and her father was currently using it for a stack of files he couldn't find room for. An open file was placed against Jefferson's face.

"What's this?" Emma asked.

"Nothing to worry about," her father assured her, "Just going over some legalities."

"Oh," Emma said quietly. She wanted to return to the window seat but she knew that she couldn't. She had too many things to do.

And that started with what she was putting off yesterday.

"Dad, are you going anywhere?"

"Not until a bit later, why?"

Emma picked up the books and brochures that hadn't moved from where her father had put them, "Will you go over these with me and help me decide?"

"Of course," he nodded, "Come sit down,"

She sat next to Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin sat next to her, "Now Emma, this is going to be hard…if it gets too rough for you then let me know and I'll put it away for a while."

Emma shook her head. It was already painful and rough but she was stronger than he thought, "We need to get this done."

He opened the first brochure to show her the caskets that Storybrooke was offering. Emma didn't have to look very long to pick a black one that was the most expensive one of the choices.

"I'll have the payment wired immediately," her father assured her when she pointed to it.

Emma felt her nerves become even more raw the longer she looked at it, "No…I'll pay for it. I'll pay for everything"

"Are you sure?"

"It's what I think is best," Emma said.

Her father nodded and pulled out the next booklet, "Should we do flowers next?"

Emma nodded. Sometime during their 'shopping', Jefferson woke up and joined in but he offered no advice on which was best to buy. He just sat there and held Emma's hand.

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Rumpelstiltskin left to get everything set into place for the funeral. Jefferson left to go home and get some sleep because he nearly fell asleep in the eggs. She offered him the guest room but he declined. His own bed was better.

Emma…still couldn't find the appetite to eat. The funeral arrangements had set her nerves even more on edge than what they already were…just the finality of it had reminded her that the minute he was in the ground…she was going to have to accept it. She was going to have to grieve and move on one day…

It would be healthy to focus on moving on when the grieving process was over but doing so would make Emma feel like she was forgetting about him and what they shared together.

But she certainly didn't want to feel like this during the next weeks and months and maybe even years.

Emma heard something dragging and looked behind her to see that David was struggling with that old book that Mary Margaret had given them when Emma was extremely young. The one that was more like a history book than it was a fantasy.

And it was bigger than him and he was dragging it along. She knew why. He wanted her to read to him.

"Mama," he came up and grabbed her hand, "Mama, where's daddy?"

The reality that Emma had been dancing around actually facing hit her fully when her son looked up at her with those hopeful innocent eyes. Emma felt herself sobbing again. David would not have a father. Graham would not be there to get married, he wouldn't be there to plan and start a family with her, she wouldn't go to sleep with him and wake up to him holding her, she wouldn't see him at work anymore, she wouldn't have his children one day, they wouldn't get their cabin in the woods together, he wouldn't heal, he wouldn't be there to support her and she couldn't support him. She would no longer fall a little more deeply in love with his eyes every time he smiled at her or looked at her…

Emma grabbed the book off the floor and threw it angrily against the wall as hard as she could.

"He's dead!" she screamed through the tears pouring down her face. The sobs gave way to hyperventilation. Her legs no longer held her and she fell to the ground. There it was…the words that she'd been trying to avoid saying in fear that she would have to face it. She'd used other sayings to try and soften the blow but softening it seemed to help her not really face it, "He's dead. My fault…"

David cowered in fear from her outburst and started crying.

When Emma processed what she'd done, the hyperventilating sobs gave way to more quiet ones. Both tears for Graham and because she had scared her son, "David…come here."

He watched her with wide terrified eyes and shook his head. He curled up against the couch as if he could actually crawl under there like he used to when he was hiding. However, he was too big now and couldn't fit.

Emma wiped her tears away but they still came, "David, I'm sorry. Mama's sorry, okay? I just lost my temper. Adults…adults do that sometimes.

Reluctantly, he crept forward. Emma wrapped her arms around when he was close enough and apologized over and over. She'd failed Graham and she'd failed David and now he was dead.

Emma scooped up her son and grabbed the car keys. She wasn't thinking…she was being spontaneous most likely but she didn't want…she couldn't be here. Not right now. She just…she had to get away for a little bit.

She put David in his car seat and got in her own seat and turned the ignition. She got towards the town line when she got the first text. It was from Jefferson.

_Emma, what are you doing?  
_

Figures he'd be watching her when he claimed he was going to sleep. She didn't reply. She didn't know what she was doing. She just wanted to…do something.

Two minutes later, Emma's phone rang. She pulled on the side of the road so that she could answer it, "Yes?"

"Where are you?" she heard her father's panicked voice ask on the other end. The terror that he could lose his daughter again made Emma feel worse.

"I'm going for a drive," she told him, "Just a long drive to clear my head and process everything, that's all."

"_Are you coming home_?" he asked.

"Yeah," she promised, "I'll be home for the funeral

"_What happened?"_ he asked.

"I think…" Emma closed her eyes and fought tears, her voice broke anyway, "I think it hit me…just everything."

"_Acceptance?"_ her father asked

"Yeah," Emma whispered, "Or at least something close to it."

"_Would you like to talk about it?"_

"When I get home," she told him, "Right now I Just need to process all of it."

"_That's understandable_," he told her, "_Emma…this is good. This is healthy. It's far better than bottling it all up like you have been."_

"It doesn't feel like it," she whispered, "It sort of sucks."

"_I know_," he told her, "_But it will get better_."

"Better?" Emma asked, "Or less painful?"

Her father didn't have an answer to that, "_Try to eat something while you're away…and make sure that David eats too." _

"I know," she told him, "He'll eat. And I'll try."

"And know that I love you," he told her. For such an unapproachable man to the rest of the town, he'd never been afraid to tell her that, "And we do know what you're going through. You don't have to grieve by yourself."

"I know," Emma whispered. But what was the point of grieving with others when the people that Emma trusted kept leaving or being ripped from her? "I might drive to Boston and then drive back in the morning… I'm not…I'm not sure yet."

"_If I have to, then I'll change the time for the funeral_," he promised her, "_The time doesn't matter to me. I just want you to come home." _

"I will," she told him, "And dad, I love you too."

**A/N: And so that was 15 pages of the hardest grieving chapter that I have ever had to write. I hope it translated well. Emma's a savior but she's still a vulnerable 20 year old girl who loved or was in love (since all of you seem to have your own interpretation) with the man that she believes she helped kill. I wanted to thank everyone for becoming so invested in the Graham/Emma relationship despite everyone knowing where it was most likely headed. I didn't think killing off Graham would be as heartbreaking for me as it ended up being.**

** And to those of you who worry that Graham's sacrifice is going to be for nothing because they won't find out then don't be. It may be several years in the future for them but Rumpelstiltskin has ways of finding these things out. Graham will be remembered in this unlike other things (Looking at YOU, show.) **


	61. Chapter 61

Emma didn't reach Boston. She didn't even try to go there.

There was a nice hill with a nice view of the forest that she found two hours out. There was a small convenient store a mile down the road for when they got hungry.

Emma had found the clearing when she ran away. She'd slept there her first night alone…well; 'slept' wasn't exactly the term. Dozing in and out while jumping at the slightest noise was more like how she'd spent that night.

But it was better here. At Storybrooke she was surrounded by reminders of Graham but out here…in place she didn't associate him with, she could think clearly.

David was having the time of his life. He'd never been out of the town before. Emma didn't even take him out into the woods. This was a whole new world to him and once he got over a little of his fear, he raced around the small clearing as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Emma sat on the ground and watched him play. She twisted the engagement ring on her finger absentmindedly. Emma wanted to curl up in a ball and try to ward off the pain but she knew it'd be irresponsible if she just did that. She had a son to care for and to expect her father to raise him while she grieved was not right. David was going to be missing Graham too and she had to be there for him. She didn't remember much at the age of two, but there were some memories there…very faint ones. She didn't know if her son was going to remember her fiancé when he got older.

"Mama!" David ran to her with a punch of leaves and a couple of weed flowers in his hands. He presented them to her; he looked like he expected praise. Emma accepted the flowers and pulled him into a suffocating hug, "Thank you, David. They're very beautiful."

Emma wouldn't trade anything in the world for the look of pride on his young face. Emma felt her eyes filling with tears as she cupped the boy's face with her hands. When she'd been pregnant with him, those last few months were hard. She had felt that she was caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, she could give him up for adoption and never see him again and therefore never let her father or Regina finding out about him. She knew that he could fall into abusive hands still…and she knew that she'd never forgive herself if he disappeared into the system and she lost him forever. To do so would be to deny him his birthright and his chance to get to know his biological family.

But to keep him…that had scared her even more. She didn't know how to be a mother. She'd mess up. She'd put him in danger. If she told Rumpelstiltskin about him and he forgave her and took David in then she was just putting her son into the danger. He would be a pawn. Rumpelstiltskin would use her son to force her to come home.

In the end, she resolved to keep him. Perhaps it was selfish. Perhaps she felt that having him would ease the pain between her and her father that would come…

Perhaps the baby would love her for her instead of what she was supposed to do.

And now, as she sat here with her son wiping away stray tears…she knew that if her intentions were selfish, she'd still made the right decision to keep him. She didn't regret it one single instant.

"Oh David," she whispered and ran a hand through her hair, "I'm not sure how I could do this without you."

She kissed his cheek and forehead and tickled him. He kicked his feet in the air and giggled. He wrapped his arms around her neck, and blew the raspberries on her cheek. Emma smiled at her boy, set him on her legs, and smiled sadly at him, "Oh David, I'm so sorry.

So sorry she couldn't give him a decent life that he deserved.

So sorry she couldn't give him a safe existence….

So sorry that she couldn't give him a father that loved him and was good for him.

_Graham. _

David wiped her face. He dried it from tears that she didn't even know were falling down her face.

"It's okay, mama," he whispered.

Emma smiled through her tears. The grief wasn't gone but out here…without the memories, it wasn't as suffocating.

"Yes David, it'll be okay," she whispered and put her forehead against his, "It just hurts right now. But one day…the pain will lessen…and one day you'll see me smile without the pain in my eyes."

David stroked her hair. He didn't understand any of what she said but somehow…she didn't understand how…something processed for him, "It's okay, mama."

"One day it will be," she promised and set him down. She slipped her hand into his "Let's go find some more flowers…"

Graham's final resting place would be a good place to lie some of them.

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Emma wasn't home yet.

Rumpelstiltskin tried not to let it bother him as people started to sit in chairs that had been prepared. He heard some sniffles behind him but he ignored them. None of them knew the true man…even when he remembered, he had to pretend to be someone else and could only relax around Emma and…Rumpelstiltskin as unbelievable as that was.

Rumpelstiltskin stared at the coffin under the shade…he should've done something to protect the Huntsman. He should've….he should've fought for the man.

But Rumpelstiltskin wasn't a fighter, he was a coward. To be honest, if Emma hadn't insisted on saving the sheriff, Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't have done so. And he made no excuses for it; he knew what kind of man he was and what he'd probably be no matter how Emma tried to change him. The only reason he remotely showed anything about _any _of these people is because Emma did.

Well, except Mary Margaret but that's because she was his support system way before she was Emma's.

"Mr. Gold," Mary Margaret leaned over from behind him, "Where's Emma?"

"She'll be here," he snapped. "Really, the funeral doesn't start until two. We have ten minutes left."

He would've at least liked Jefferson to be here too. Sometimes Jefferson could talk to Emma in a way that Rumpelstiltskin could not. Now that someone was dead because of them…Rumpelstiltskin would've really liked that all of Emma's support system be here.

But Grace was three rows back; both she and her adopted mother were there both to mourn and support the preacher father that Regina had given her to. To go and look at his daughter without Grace recognizing him would be too painful for Jefferson. He stayed on the hill and watched her in the distance.

Ten minutes passed and people began whispering amongst themselves. Emma hadn't arrived yet. Someone said a bit too loudly that they saw her leaving town. Something Regina, who was sitting close to Grace's family (Just to rub it in), smirked openly about.

Perhaps he should call her.

He saw a movement to his right; Emma sat hastily next to him. He saw that she had stopped by the house. She was wearing a black pantsuit and smelled like she just showered. Without a word she guided David towards her and pulled her in his lap. He was also dressed in a black suit as well.

Rumpelstiltskin needed to order some more soon. He looked like he was going to be growing out of them soon.

"You alright?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

Emma looked up and her eyes froze on the coffin in front of them. Rumpelstiltskin saw the vulnerability in her eyes and put his hand on hers, "We're here."

Emma looked at him and her eyes filled with tears, "I know."

Rumpelstiltskin watched as she drew in a full breath, closed her eyes and when she opened them, the tears were gone.

"It's alright if you weep for him," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"No," Emma said and stared ahead. She held her son against her chest, "Not in front of _them._"

"As you wish," he muttered and turned as Grace's father started talking.

"God," he heard Ms. Ginger whisper somewhere behind them, "Put her in a tie and she looks just like her father."

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People came to pay their last respects. The coffin was lowered in; the dirt was put over it. The caretaker of the cemetery practically begged them to leave, but Emma sat rigidly in her chair. Rumpelstiltskin wasn't sure what she was trying to prove, while she sat there with a set jaw.

However, where she went, he went. He remained by her side as they hired hands set the flowers around the coffin.

"The house is overflowing with things like that," Rumpelstiltskin told her and nodded to the small gifts, "Everyone stopped by. They left them on the porch when they realized that it was only me being home."

Emma continued to stare ahead but she was shaking, "Why wasn't it open casket?"

"You don't want your last memory of him to be that," Rumpelstiltskin told her, "His face was very badly damaged and not in a way that these gentlemen here could hide. His neck was broken…it was better that you remember him as a man with a soul rather than the empty shell that he left behind."

"I see," Emma whispered, "When will the headstone be in?"

"A few days. Luckily they don't see much business here."

Emma lowered her head, "Can I have a few moments please?"

"Of course," he lifted up his grandson and walked down the small aisle.

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Jefferson had always said that the final minutes, watching a corpse be buried was the worst thing when going through the mourning process. Emma begged to differ. It was the burial that was the worst; it was afterwards; those few moments when you realized that was it. He was down there; under six feet worth of freshly dug dirt.

He was dead, he was rotting, and he wasn't coming back.

Emma comforted herself by telling herself that it wasn't really him down there anymore. His soul had moved on…

It did little though.

Emma felt the tears fall down her face as the burden both eased and became heavier. He was buried. She could grieve.

What happened now?"

Emma bent down and placed the small bundle of weeds on the mound of dirt and then rested her hand on it.

"I'm sorry," she cried.

She'd lied to herself the day and night previous when she slept in the backseat with David and told herself that it would become easier. It wouldn't.

Because if Emma ever forgave herself for contributing to the death of the man that she loved then she would lose who she was.

And that was the biggest insult to Graham's memory that she could think of.

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The town moved on with their regular lives by the time Emma pulled herself together and drove back through. It was a bit jarring…seeing most of the town dressed in black but continuing to move on. Emma wondered how long she was allowed to grieve before she was expected to move on too.

She still hadn't eaten and she'd barely slept. However now that the funeral was done, she was going to try to stomach something.

Granny's was open but there weren't a lot of people there. It as after the lunch rush…and she figured most that attended the funeral already visited here and then left.

Granny was there at the counter when Emma strolled up. She was aware that eyes were on her but she ignored them. She was a Gold after all, she was used to it, "Um…two grilled cheeses and two curly fries please."

"Anything for David?" Granny asked.

"I'll probably only eat half of mine if that much," Emma said, "I'll give him the rest."

Granny filled out the order and placed it, "Are you holding up alright?"

"Sometimes yes, sometimes no."

"Emma!" Ruby practically came out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around her in a bear hug, "I'm so sorry."

"Thank you," Emma said, but felt awkward because she wasn't sure what else she was supposed to say when someone was expressing condolences, "I appreciate it."

"I wanted to come by but you'd gone."

"Yes Ms. Gold, we thought you'd tucked tail and ran again when things got difficult."

Everyone froze. Emma pulled away and glared at the glowering face of Regina, "Well, there are some of us that learn the lesson and don't make it again, Madame Mayor."

"Indeed," Regina said and looked her over, "Interesting choice of wardrobe, if I didn't know any better, Ms. Ginger was right and you were emulating your father today."

"There are worse people to emulate," Emma said darkly.

"Not many," Regina said.

Emma kept her gaze on Regina just in case Regina didn't get that Emma was referring to her, "Enough are."

That wiped the near smirk of Regina's face, "Ms. Gold, now that you're back in town, I'll have to ask that you resume your position as interim sheriff until a new one can be appointed."

Emma blinked, "The position falls to me."

"Well, for two weeks it will, Ms. Swan, but you're not even 21 years old yet. Far too young to be a sheriff."

Emma felt her heart start to race and she panicked. Regina was going to take the last thing that Emma had left, "I have experience."

"Yes, I'm sure that you've been experienced in a lot of things," Regina smirked at the innuendo, "But you are simply too young."

"I was working there since I was fifteen."

"Ms. Gold, you were gone for two of those years," Regina said condescendingly.

"And who will take my place?"

"Sidney Glass."

"That overpaid gossip?" Emma asked, "Oh yeah, he's qualified to take down Leroy

"He's covered the station for years."

"Covering it and working it are two different things," Emma pointed out.

"Well then he'll learn from experience," Regina said, "Because you're fired after two weeks."

"That's enough," Granny said and set Emma's take out bag down between them, Regina you should be ashamed of yourself! This girl just buried her fiancé today and you're bothering her about her job. Why can't she even just keep her deputy position and train Sidney?"

Emma gave Regina a look that told her exactly what she thought of that idea.

"I do have to worry when the only working sheriff disappeared for almost 24 hours," Regina said, never taking her eyes off Emma, "We didn't know where you were. And what if something bad had happened while you were grieving? You're clearly not equipped emotionally to handle the problems this job comes with."

Emma knew that was more of a barb at her being the savior than it was the sheriff, "Better that I use some of my emotions to be human than acting on all of them and reacting as they come, wouldn't you say so, mayor?"

"Emma, that's enough," Granny scolded and then turned to Regina, "Leave her alone."

Regina sneered in Emma's direction, "He was a good man, Ms. Gold. You could never hope to fill his shoes."

Emma turned to Granny, "Thank you."

"She gets a little too arrogant with herself sometimes," Granny said, "Maybe that's why I was put here. To knock her down a peg."

Emma lifted the bag, but felt most of her appetite gone, "Nothing could knock that thing down a peg. But I imagine you would come close."

She pulled out her billfold, but Granny held up her hand, "No Emma. Today, for you, it's on the house."

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Rumpelstiltskin could deal with David playing with his trucks on the table when he'd been down here. He could deal with the child growing bored, but when Jefferson fidgeted it was an entirely different story. He was an _adult _for the sake of the gods.

"Can you honestly not do that?" Rumpelstiltskin asked when he started absentmindedly clicking the pen.

Jefferson scowled, "We've been through this thing front to back and then back to front. I'm sure that if you could think of a way how then we'd go through it sideways. We know it already, and I don't see how going through any more ideas is going to work when we don't know what Regina's next move is."

"That's why we're trying to plan ahead," Rumpelstiltskin said through clenched teeth, "Instead of reacting."

Jefferson held up the charter, "Did you write all this? Tell me that you didn't write all this! I don't see you sitting down and writing it all out when you were back home. You wouldn't have sat still long enough for it."

Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes, "It popped up here just like all the photos and documentation and that bloody fairy tale book did."

"Oh," Jefferson said, "So…how long do you think Regina's going to wait?"

"She didn't," Emma said while walking in, "Aw, Jefferson, if I'd known that you were going to stop by then I would've gotten you something to eat."

"I'm not hungry," Jefferson said, "What did Regina do?"

"She's keeping me on long enough for a sheriff's election," Emma said bitterly and pulled up a chair, "Then she's firing me. Claims I'm too young."

Jefferson rolled his eyes, "I suppose she doesn't know that you practically ran that office when Graham was recovering from…oh sorry Emma."

"I'm not going to burst out in tears every time his name is mentioned," Emma said. Rumpelstiltskin saw her eyes harden, but no tears came, "Or cry every time I think about what we did. And no, she doesn't know that I ran the office after we restored Graham's heart. It wouldn't matter anyway; she'd still want me gone. Probably a lot faster if she knew."

"So what are you going to do?" Jefferson asked.

"I'm going to fight for it," Emma said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jefferson sat up straighter and gave Rumpelstiltskin a panicked look. Rumpelstiltskin understood his worry immediately. Emma wouldn't have what Regina thought as an unsuspecting sheriff to keep her safe, "Are you sure this is wise?"

"She's putting Sidney in my place."

Nevermind. It was very wise.

"The mayor can pick a candidate," Rumpelstiltskin said and opened the charter, "But she can't pick the sheriff. There has to be an election."

"Then I'm running."

"Am I the only one that can see how this could backfire?" Jefferson demanded, "We go against her like this in front of everyone and she'll destroy Emma."

Rumpelstiltskin ignored him and stared at his daughter, "You realize that she'll hit you head-on, yes? She'll pull out everything about your past in an attempt to discredit you and humiliate you."

"I don't care."

"David could get pulled into this."

Emma stopped and paled at that, "This job was mine. Graham would've wanted me to have it and to give it to Sidney would just be insulting. I'm taking that job. We're not losing our foothold in this town. I'm doing this _for _David."

"As you wish," Rumpelstiltskin said.

Emma drew a couple of breaths, "Did David eat?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to go check on him," Emma said, "And then I'm going to come back down here and we'll go over some plans on how we're going to make this work."

When she was out of the room, Jefferson turned, "What do you think?"

"I think she needs this as a victory for her moreso than David or Graham. Which is understandable," Rumpelstiltskin muttered, "She's lost enough this week."

"Well, glass half full," Jefferson started, "At least she's channeling some of that grief into something productive."

**A/N: So…how about last night's episode? Yeah, that's…a little too big not to include in this. Needless to say, I think a few members of the family are going to be a bit traumatized. **

** Expect a bit of a darker Emma in the next few chapters as well. **


	62. Chapter 62

The next morning, Emma stumbled into the kitchen with half open eyes, "Don't say anything…just point me to the nearest coffee pot."

Her father looked up from his newspaper and scowled. He made it no secret that he hated coffee. He drank it a few times but could never warm up to the bitter taste. He only bought a coffee pot because Emma liked it. Sometimes Emma wasn't so sure she liked it either but tea did not give her the kick she needed to get through the day sometimes.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, "You look horrible."

"Had a hard time going to sleep last night," she put her mug on the table and pulled out the coffeepot, "I kept…thinking about the campaign and different plans to get the position."

"There's no need to stress over it," Rumpelstiltskin told her, "People respect you far more than they respect Sidney."

"And I'm a Gold…no offense dad, but that doesn't exactly strike warmth in your tenants' hearts either," she said, "And Regina's going to pull out all the stops to get me removed from that position so pardon me if I'm a bit worried."

He nodded, "What are your plans for today."

"Well its Monday….things are usually slow on Monday so I'll probably just sit and see if I can beat my record of how many times I can turn a complete 360 in a chair or something…why? You want me to stop into the pawn shop for lunch?"

"Actually, I was thinking that we could clean out the Huntsman's apartment today."

Emma felt all her muscles tense at that. Her breathing quickened, "Today?"

"I thought you might be the one who would want to handle his belongings…"

Emma nodded, "I do, yeah."

He saw her hesitation, "His rent ends at the end of the month. Perhaps now isn't a good time."

"No, it's the best time," Emma said quickly so that her voice didn't break, "It would start closure, and closure's good and healthy and by the end of the month I'll be focusing on the election and so…it's the best time."

"If it's too soon…"

"It's not too soon," Emma argued, "It's the best time to get this done. The sooner the better really…if we put it off…it'll just hurt more."

"I see," he said but he didn't argue. Maybe he thought it was too soon but he didn't fight it because Emma had made up her mind. Or maybe he didn't say anything because he wanted her to go with him to clean it out because he wanted her to find closure as soon as possible.

Emma kissed her father's forehead, "I'll meet you at ten, then"

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Graham's apartment, unlike most bachelors was neat and clean. Emma wondered if perhaps he'd been getting into the habit of cleaning so that he could prepare for the married life.

Much like bachelor's homes however, it was only filled with the barest necessities. Emma knew that he used to have more…he'd sold a lot of his belongings to pay off the rings. It was a sacrifice he told her that he didn't mind making. After all, they had eight years to buy it all back.

It smelled like him in here.

Her father gave her a concerned look when he saw her shaking, "Do you need to step outside?"

"No," she whispered and got ahold of herself, "I'll be fine."

"Emma," he said and gripped her shoulders, "If you need to step outside then-."

"Dad…," she whispered, "We need to get this done. I'll be fine."

"Alright," he said and gestured to the couch, "If you want any of the big furniture then I'll have it moved to the house. If you don't then it'll go to the curb…or…to anyone that wants it."

"Okay," Emma said quietly.

"We're just here to move the smaller things," he set the boxes down, "What room would you like?"

"The bedroom," Emma said immediately.

Her father looked up, "Are you sure?"

She wished he'd stopped asking that, "That room will be the hardest…if I can get through that then…everything else will be easier."

Doubt clouded his gaze but he gave her a box and a bag, "As you wish."

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The bedroom only had a bed, a wardrobe and a desk. There were no nightstands…the light came from a bulb on the ceiling.

On the desk were several toys that the Huntsman had bought for David.

Emma closed her eyes and stopping the rising emotion in her chest. Less than two weeks from now, she and Graham were going to share this bed….spend the next eight years or longer going to sleep and waking up together. Spending the next eight years sharing the closet and wardrobe. Spending the next eight years working over the desk while the other one held them lovingly and told them they were going to bed.

Every intimate loving moment that they would've shared together was now lost…

Emma opened one of the drawers and pulled out an undershirt. It was clean but there were still hints of his cologne on it. Emma held the shirt to her chest and struggled to hold in her emotions.

It wasn't him…

Emma drew in a breath.

She could do this. She'd just have to put her emotions aside and get this done.

She had no use for his clothes…but perhaps someone else could, Emma would donate them to charity…she supposed she could keep a few of his shirts to sleep in but perhaps that would be the opposite of the closure that she wanted to achieve.

Emma got control of her emotions, and started opening the drawers for his clothes.

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Rumpelstiltskin packed the last of the kitchen utensils in a box and placed it on the small table with the other boxes.

He didn't see Emma wanting any of these things…however he wouldn't argue if she wanted to go through them. Perhaps it would help her heal if she could just see everything he owned.

He didn't know how though but people found closure in different ways.

Emma came from down the hall. Her eyes were red and her unemotional face was quickly faltering.

"Emma," he whispered, "What's wrong?"

She walked right past him and opened the front door. He grabbed his cane and followed her to where she sat on the bottom of the stairs. When he came on her, he saw that she was struggling to breathe regularly, "Emma, are you alright?"

She was quiet for a few minutes and then held out her hand, the engagement ring was in the palm of her hand, "Do I give this back to you?"

"He paid for it," Rumpelstiltskin said, "It's yours to keep to do with whatever you wish."

Emma looked at her father and then at the ring. In her other hand, she held out a small black box.

Her father accepted it and sat down next to her. He opened it to find both their wedding bands, ready to be used."

"I found it in his sock drawer," Emma said, "And then it just…I couldn't be in there. I thought I could handle it but I couldn't. Not when I found those."

He closed the box, "IT's understandable."

Emma looked at the engagement ring, "What should I do?"

"Whatever you want with them. Wear them in remembrance…put them away in your own clothes drawer-"

"Could I sell them?"

He blinked in shock, "Why should you want to do that, Emma?"

She was quiet at first, "Because there isn't any point in saying I'm engaged or married if it's not going to happen. To keep it or wear them would just be me lying to myself…"

"I don't think that selling them is advisable, Emma. I know how hard this is for you but if you sell these then you will regret it. He worked hard to attain them to prove his love for you. I'm not sure if he ever told you this but I charged him more than what the rings were worth to see if he was willing to pay it. And he did…he spent everything he had on those rings because he wanted to prove to me that he was worthy of you. If I were you, I wouldn't sell them," he looked at the swan necklace that she kept around her neck, "You told me once that you keep this to remember how much you were hurt. Wouldn't it make sense to keep the rings to remember how much you were loved?"

His words hurt her and she looked ashamed of herself, "I'm sorry."

"Death is a…very hard thing to deal with. And it's unfortunate that what's probably your first time has to deal with someone so close to you," When Emma looked up at him, he drew in a breath, "My…mother died when I was three. I was orphaned and the women that raised me told me that my father abandoned the family shortly after I was born. I had a hard time understanding and dealing with it. When I was seven…one of the women that raised me died…so if there's anyone that understands sort of what you're going through…it would be me."

Rumpelstiltskin had been reluctant to indulge his past to Emma until she came back home but he _rarely_ talked about his childhood.

Emma wiped a tear away, "Okay."

"Are you ready to finish?" he asked, "Or do you want to call it a day?"

"Almost," Emma said, "There are a couple of things I want to get first."

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David absolutely loved the toys that Graham had bought for him before he died. He sat surrounded by them in the living room while Emma and Rumpelstiltskin went through some of the boxes they'd brought home with them, "I thought you might like this."

He held out the jacket from the box. Emma tensed when she saw it and shook her head, "No."

"Very well," he put the jacket between them. Emma looked down at it for a few minutes. He pulled out some newspaper clippings, "There are some certificates in here as well but I didn't know that you'd want them since they're fake."

"I'll…keep the newspapers," she said and put them on the coffee table.

"What about these?" he held out some walkies, "You and David could use these. When he's older you could play together."

"Or we could use them…," Emma said, "If something happens or Regina does something, we could use them."

She put them on the newspapers.

"What about-."

The phone started buzzing and Emma looked at the message, "Dispatch. Leroy's singing the Titanic song in front of Granny's in the hopes that he'll get tips. I should probably…"

"Alright," he nodded, "Make sure you eat."

"I will," Emma stood and grabbed Graham's coat.

"I see you changed your mind," he said and grabbed the things that Emma wanted to keep.

"It's cold," Emma said, "And I'm going to hang it up in the office."

"I thought that looking at some things would be too painful to remember."

"I thought so at first, it's just that…," she shrugged, "With what you said to me…maybe it'd be far more painful to forget."

He nodded and she walked out of the door.

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Emma drove to the station turn on the light and switch cars so that she would have the supplies she needed to take Leroy into custody.

Emma hung up the coat on the coat rack and brushed it off. He'd hung it on that hook...ever since she could remember. It felt natural that it be left here. To throw it out or give it to someone else felt wrong. Graham loved that coat…to even consider giving it away made her feel even guiltier than thoughts of selling the rings.

She needed to stop acting emotionally. If she kept on trying to make decisions based on emotion instead of logic then she might as well be called Regina.

Emma adjusted her rearview mirror and stopped. She would need a place to put the rings. She didn't want to wear them on her fingers because she would have to remove them frequently when working or sparring with Jefferson. She didn't want to wear them around her neck all the time because they could easily get ripped off or the chain would break or they could get lost.

She took the chain from her neck and hung it on the rearview mirror. No one would mess with them. If they did so then she would know it was more than likely Regina because everyone else would respect Graham and hopefully her too much to touch them

He'd picked silver for the color of their wedding bands. His was just plain silver but hers was covered in small diamonds that matched her engagement ring. Emma chose a matching thick silver chain to hold them and she set tied the chain off at the top to lessen some of the length.

It would be the best place to put them here.


	63. Chapter 63

Before they started their little campaign, Emma vowed to herself that she wouldn't sink as low as Regina was most likely going to sink to get this position. She was going to take the high road. She was going to be better than Regina was and everyone was going to see it.

Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin thought her resolve was the funniest thing.

"They're going to drag you through the mud, Emma," Jefferson had said as they sat around playing scrabble the second night the campaign began, "If you just sit there and take it then they might think you don't have a backbone."

"I agree," Rumpelstiltskin said, scoring a triple word point, "And you _really _don't want to look spineless compared to Sidney Glass…that's one of the lowest insults one can get!"

"I know," Emma said, "But everything I can throw out at Sidney are things that everyone already knows. I see no point in mudslinging since that's the case."

"You'll put it at the front of everyone's mind," Jefferson told her, "And it'll come across as you not being afraid of Regina or her patsies."

"I don't care," Emma said and played 'Amazing' on her turn, "I'm not going to be like her."

"Could it be that you don't want to be like her, or because you don't want to look as manipulative as I?" Rumpelstiltskin asked and frowned when Emma caught up to him in terms of points. When Emma didn't answer, he smiled, "It's alright, Emma. You don't have to worry about hurting me. I know what kind of man I am and I know what I'd resort to if I wanted to position and I wouldn't want you to do the same."

Emma rested her head on her hands, "I'm not worried about my family name, I'm worried about how people perceive it and how it'll affect my chances. People could say that the Golds have too much power already and giving them the sheriff's office might just give them more."

"They could say the same about the mayor."

"Yes, but they're just only afraid of the mayor," Jefferson said, "They're really terrified of you. Once you really took pride in that."

"Once," Rumpelstiltskin said, "And I will again when this election is done."

Emma played 'zap' off of 'amazing', "I'm going to stick with the original plan, I'm going to play off my family values and experience."

"Family values can backfire when Regina reminds them that you're a Gold," Jefferson put his word down and frowned when he saw that it was only 16 points, "If you want to get out from people just seeing that then you might want to consider moving out."

"No!" Rumpelstiltskin said quickly before Emma could even consider it.

Jefferson rolled his eyes, "She's 20…time to start out on her own

"Why?" Rumpelstiltskin challenged, "To go to an empty home every night with a child and no support in the evening? There's nothing wrong with her thinking of this as home. I like the company, we both get along well and I can help her raise the boy…unlike the rules in this world, I don't see the point in separating family just because it's the 'independent' thing to do."

"Does anyone want to know what I think?" Emma asked.

They waited.

Emma drew a breath, "I appreciate my dad's help when it comes to raising David. Perhaps when he's older and starting school then I'll consider moving out…but until then…I'm going to take all the support that I can get. Besides, moving out will just make it look like I'm separating to make myself look better as a candidate and that'll backfire. Besides, I like this house better than any of the others here in Storybrooke."

Rumpelstiltskin looked at Jefferson with a victorious smirk and they played quietly for a few minutes. They all stopped when David ran screaming through the room with a towel around his shoulders like a cape.

Emma smiled at her boy as he ran out of the room as fast as he came in. He'd discovered superheroes the other day and he hadn't taken off his little cape since.

"I wonder what our relationships would've been like in the curse never happened," Emma said.

"We wouldn't have had a relationship," Jefferson said, "I'd never have gotten back and even if I did then we wouldn't have known each other."

Rumpelstiltskin was quiet for a second, "We wouldn't have had a relationship Emma. I doubt you would've been anything more than a means to an end for me."

Emma winced at the brutality of his words but she couldn't say that she was truly surprised. Everyone was a means to an end for him. Even she had been and still pretty much was until she turned 28. Only difference was that he loved her but that didn't change the fact that he still counted on her to help him with his agenda. They liked to pretend that she wouldn't have to if she didn't want to. However they both knew that she most likely would.

"However," Rumpelstiltskin said, "Considering the…spirit that you had as a child and growing up, I can only imagine that we would have several dealings and I would've been very fond of you."

That sounded almost heartwarming if not for Emma's knowledge on how he dealt with people he was fond of.

"Ugh," Jefferson muttered, "So sick to imagine you groping Emma like you did all the other women if we were still over there.

The room was plunged into awkward silence. Emma felt like she was going to be sick and Rumpelstiltskin looked it as well.

"I think I'm going to start dinner," Emma said even though she didn't think that she would ever eat again.

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The next day, Regina publicly announced Sidney to be her candidate for sheriff much to everyone's amusement. Absolutely no one was surprised at who Regina would pick and several told Emma that morning that either she was the lesser of the two evils or she was far superior than the newspaper journalist who had no experience.

But those were just words. Emma was very aware that the same people that said this probably gave a similar speech to Regina about her pick.

What mattered were the votes on Election Day.

Sidney wasted no time plastering his face all over town. Emma was also welcomed that morning by a very large front page cover story when she opened the paper.

Emma had a couple of calls to make that morning but by lunch she found enough time on her hands to go to Granny's for a quick bite to eat.

"Grilled cheese," Emma ordered with a smile to Granny when she came up to the bar.

"Usual?"

"The usual," Emma confirmed.

Granny wrote it down and put up the order, "You have any campaign posters for me to put up?"

"I didn't know you wanted them," Emma said.

"Of course I want them," Granny scolded, "I'm endorsing you!"

Emma blinked, "Oh…"

"Your stories about the real world kept Ruby from wanting to leave and sleep her way down the eastern seaboard," Granny said, "I owe you at least my endorsement. I'll plaster your face over my windows if I get enough."

"And what are you going to do if someone comes in here who endorses Sidney?"

"Then they don't eat," Granny said stubbornly.

"I'm not sure that's a good reason not to serve someone," Emma told her.

"Everyone knows that you're a far better candidate and anyone who votes for Sidney is just doing so because they're scared of Regina," Granny said, "This will teach them to have a backbone. It's called tough love."

"I see," Emma said and reminded herself to have her father lessen the rent in case Granny couldn't make it this month.

"Deputy Gold?" a journalist came up that she recognized as Peter Peter, Pumpkin Eater, "A couple of questions."

Emma tensed; everything was going to be pro-Sidney at the paper and she didn't have to be warned to take precautions, "I suppose."

He hastily pulled out his little notepad, "What do you have over Mr. Glass that you think would guarantee you the place as sheriff."

"Because I've been working at the office since I was fifteen."

"Well to be fair, Deputy," Peter said, "You were gone for two of those years."

"So that means I have three years of experience here…almost four," Emma said and took a sip of her drink, "And that's still more years' experience than what Sidney has."

"And what do you have to say about the rumors about yourself and the sheriff?"

What rumors?" Emma paid for her lunch.

"That Graham hired you because he was attracted to you."

Emma clenched the bar and gave him a furious look, "What are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything, Deputy."

"Do you realize that I was brought on when I was fifteen years old?" Emma asked through clenched teeth, "And do you realize what you're saying about the sheriff when you're asking that question?"

"That is not-."

"The sheriff was a good man," Emma snapped angrily, "And very professional. When he was on the clock we were always professional to each other and anything more are just rumors spun in your sick paper."

She grabbed her food, "Do _not _spit on the sheriff's memory to sell a few more papers. If you do so then your little newspaper will sink to a new incredible low."

Emma didn't let him have the chance to defend himself. She stormed out of the diner and she was completely aware that every eye was on her.

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Rumpelstiltskin dusted the desk while Emma recounted the story of what happened in the diner. When she was done, he looked up grimly, "You knew this would happen, Emma"

"I know," Emma ran a hand through her hair and wiped a stray tear, "I was just hoping that Regina would have the decency not to spread rumors about the dead."

"You're sure it's her?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"Of course it's her," Emma snapped, "Who else would it be?"

"Emma," Rumpelstiltskin started, "Is this something you want?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it's rightfully mine," Emma said.

"But is it something you want?" he repeated, "I know you think it's what Graham would want and you think it's your obligation to the society because this job should fall to you but is this something that you yourself truly want?"

Emma drew a breath. She knew that she needed this because it was a good stronghold and because it would honor Graham's memory in a way that Sidney Glass certainly could not. She knew that she had a right to it and she should fight for it with everything…but did she want to because society told her she should? Or because it was something she desired?

Well, what else was she going to do? She honestly didn't see herself doing anything else in this town…so did that mean she wanted it? Every other reason she tried to think of just sounded like it was what others wanted for her.

But then again, if it was broken down enough, every decision someone made could sound like it was serving someone else.

"I want this," Emma started slowly, "So that I can do something that matters. It's important to me because it means that I'll have a standing in this town and have respect. And maybe…maybe if I get this position then it means I've fully atoned for hurting the people that I hurt when I ran away."

"You don't need to atone for that still," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"Yes I do," Emma said stubbornly, "I want this and I think that I need it…for those reasons."

Her father studied her for several minutes and nodded, "Very well."

"Have I convinced you?"

"I think you've convinced yourself," he told her with a proud smile, "Go out there and fight and remind Regina who exactly you are and where you come from."

Emma smiled and kissed her father's cheek affectionately.

When she was gone, he allowed the breath he was holding out.

In those moments, in his eyes, his little girl was a woman.


	64. Chapter 64

Emma examined herself in the full length mirror in the back of the shop. Her hands went to her pockets before she realized that she didn't any. She bit her lip and smoothed down her tailor made suit. A black suit with a gorgeous green top to match her eyes. Her father had sent his tailor to her a week ago and the suit had just come in yesterday. Emma of course tried it on immediately but today was the day of the debate and she was trying to break it in.

"Don't slouch," her father said.

"I'm not slouching."

"Your shoulders are hunched," he stepped behind her and straightened her up, "You need to look sharp and dignified."

"Too much of that will give an air of superiority."

"Which you're entitled to," he told her.

"Because I'm your daughter or because I'm the savior?"

"Must you pick only one?"

Emma scoffed and looked at his arrogant face, "Dad, I know the concept of voting is still foreign to you considering this is a monarchy in this town but if I can't identify with these people or they link me too much to you then they're not going to vote me in. And I don't want to lose simply because you told me to be better than them and I listened."

He shrugged, "I could always threaten them into voting for you-."

"Dad," Emma said aggravated, "No."

"It'd be easy and far simpler than a debate."

She sighed. Not everything needed to be done with back alley deals and threats. Doing so would feel like a disgrace to Graham's memory if she didn't come by it honestly, "Dad, I'm not always going to have you fighting my battles. I need to do this by myself."

He put his hand on the side of her face. She knew that he was probably thinking that she would always do the bigger thing because she was _good_. Emma couldn't say why but she never understood why that felt like such an insult sometimes.

"I love you Emma," he whispered, "And no matter how this turns out, I will always be proud of you for standing up to Regina like this."

Emma's eyes quickly flickered to the town outside the shop and then looked at him, "Someone's got to, right?"

"Don't do it for them," he shut the blinds, "Do it for you. Someday Emma, there will be a time when every decision you make will be because you're the savior. Eventually you may lose sight of what you should do for yourself and what you should do as their hero. There will be decisions for their safety; yes. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting this for you."

Emma smiled as he embraced her. It was always her fear that when these people woke up, they wouldn't care so much about her as a person and what she had been through. They would only care because she was their savior.

"Do you have your speech memorized?"

"I have the points pretty much thought out," She said as she pulled back.

"Emma!" he scolded.

She shrugged, "Nothing sounded sincere."

"You're not supposed to be sincere, you're up there to tear a man down and say why you're the better pick," he shrugged, "Well I suppose that you could be sincere in that."

"I think that's the opposite of what I'm aiming to do."

"It's Sidney Glass," he said, "No one cares."

Emma gave him a look.

"You care," he noted with condescension.

"I have to save everybody," Emma told him, "Including those like him. Perhaps he'll learn the error of his ways when he wakes up."

"Your mother used to say the same thing about Regina, Emma," he pulled on his overcoat, "And look where that got all of us."

"With your blessing."

"On the contrary, there was a small part of me that was hoping they'd fire those arrows into her when the execution was taking place. Your mother suddenly stepping in was a complete surprise."

"You wanted her to cast the curse though, surely there was a part of you that was relieved she didn't die."

"Naturally," He said, "But disappointment crept in there too."

Sometimes the way her father talked about his past crimes so carelessly terrified Emma.

"You're an enigma," she said a little less playfully than she felt a few minutes ago.

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Emma bounced her knees nervously as she sat there on the chair in the stage. It was imperative that she stay still and make a good impression but all those eyes were making her nervous. She hated public speaking. Rumpelstiltskin said her mother was a good public motivator…and if that was hereditary then Emma missed that gene. She appeared to have inherited Charming's hot blooded gene though.

And that was a blessing that kept her alive as well as a curse that landed her in trouble in the first place.

"Glass and Swan. Sounds like something that a decorator would make you buy."

No one laughed. Emma felt bad for Archie.

"Ms. Swan…your first statement."

Emma shakingly stood and look at everyone…wow…all those faces…

She looked in the back as the door opened. Jefferson slipped in and went to stand against the wall where no one could see him. He gave her a slight smile and nodded.

Her parents sat on the front row. Her father watched her with unblinking eyes. Mary Margaret sat next to him. Their chairs close enough to be friends but far enough away to avoid speculations. David, like always when she was in the room, was in Mary Margaret's lap. She was his favorite person in the world still. David smiled when he saw her and gave an excited wave.

Emma looked at her son's face for a second.

She didn't care what her father said. She wasn't going to do this for herself; she was going to do this for him. Getting this place of power would secure a spot of safety for everyone most of all her son.

"Most of you if not all of you know that I have a bit of a troubled past," she started, "But I've been able to turn my life around in the past two, almost three, years. I returned home and reconciled with my family. I reconciled with the people that I hurt when I ran away and thanks to my mistakes ended up in prison. However, I paid my debt to society and I returned home and started rebuilding my life. I got a job so that I could provide income and raised my child and I haven't been in trouble since. I've been told recently that I couldn't be a sheriff because I was too young but there is no rule in the Charter that sets an age for the sheriff. I have three years of first-hand experience and that's more than what my opponent has. If you vote for me, I promise to represent this town the way it deserves to be represented. As a community full of people who care about each other and go about their daily lives on a quest to find their happily ever afters."

The last line was cheesy but her father and Jefferson smiled at her secret nod.

"Don't let the fact that my last name is _Gold _sway your vote," she finished, "Choose the person that knows that office better than the back of their hand."

She moved to sit back in her chair. Sidney Glass got up to make his statements, "As all of you know, I've been covering the happenings of the sheriff's office for years. Since before my opponent was born. I've seen all kinds of things that she doesn't have the experience for."

Emma nearly spit out the water that she was drinking. What events? Storybrooke could go on record for having the least amount of police reports ever written!

"My opponent only has three years of experience. I have had over…," he looked at Emma and then did the calculations in his head, "Twenty-One year's experience. I may not have first-hand experience but I do know how it's done. I should also remind the voters that I have a clean record. Unlike my opponent, who disappeared for two years, had a baby, got in trouble and wouldn't even be here if not for the fact that she had no choice but to send her son here."

Emma's fist tightened her fist so tightly that she was afraid she might draw blood in her palm. How dare he pull her son in on this.

No, she had to remind herself, not him. He was just the puppet. It was just Regina's words.

"And while my opponent paid her debt to society, I don't need to remind the town that after the death of her fiancé, she took her son and disappeared for almost 24 hours. We all asked the same questions; where did she go and was she coming back? Anything could've happened while she was gone. I would never and have never abandoned the people of Storybrooke."

Emma felt the blood pumping in her ears. He was using Graham's death against her and going by Regina's reaction that had _not _been part of the plan.

Fury flowed through her. The only reason she didn't tackle him and scratch his eyes out was because her son was watching.

She could turn this into an advantage. She could remind them that this was who they were going to vote for. She could remind them that Graham chose her. Graham picked her to be deputy in case something ever happened to him. He wanted _her _to pick up the reigns in case he couldn't.

But then she'd be using Graham's death for sympathy. Not her own merits.

All of a sudden, pursuing the sheriff's position like this left a very bad taste in her mouth.

No matter what, if they voted for her or didn't then they'd be getting exactly what they deserved.

Everyone waited for her reaction. Mary Margaret looked concerned, both her father and Jefferson looked furious. Jefferson kept looking over at Regina like he wanted to climb over everyone and strangle the smirk off her face.

Without a word, she gathered her things and walked behind the curtain. She wasn't going to stand there and let them drag her past and how she chose to mourn through the mud.

And then she made a choice. Graham was not here. He was gone, he was dead. Her son meanwhile _was _here and she had to protect him first and foremost. When Regina called in the state to investigate Emma's treatment of David, Graham had stood up for her. Emma knew that she wouldn't get that support from Sidney. And they didn't have Graham's heart anymore so they had no leverage. The only thing stopping Regina if she decided to repeat this was Regina being terrified of Rumpelstiltskin.

And her, if she did something to get Regina's fear.

And she knew what she had to do

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Rumpelstiltskin knew from Emma's body language that she was furious. He also knew that if she was as angry as he thought she was then she was probably going to do something that she regretted.

Mary Margaret looked at him; her face was a mixture of concern and a quiet anger of her own, "We should go to her."

Rumpelstiltskin looked in the back. Jefferson was gone; he was probably looking for her already.

"Would you look after David for a bit?"

"I want to help you find Emma."

"You will be helping," he said. Honestly he would love Mary Margaret to be there with him but he knew that they couldn't talk about what they needed to if she was there, "You'll talk to her but I really need to find her first."

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The voting was tomorrow but Regina knew that she had already won. No one wanted a sheriff that wouldn't' stand up for the position and they were too afraid of her to even question electing someone else.

Some misguided souls might vote for her but Regina knew that she'd be pinning that badge on Sidney. Sure he might face some loss of support since he brought up the Huntsman but that was just his petty jealousy over their relationship that they'd had in the past.

Regina pulled into the driveway. She'd have to find a way to deal with Rumpelstiltskin but the first thing she planned to do was get that baby away from Emma and Rumpelstiltskin. She didn't care whose palm she had to put money in. That child was their happy ending and Regina wouldn't have them having their happily ever after over her. Besides, it was best for that child. Emma might pathetically struggle to be good but she was under the influence of Rumpelstiltskin and Jefferson

Maybe she'd take in the boy herself. No, it'd be better to leave him out in the world. Rumpelstiltskin couldn't get to the baby out there and Emma would never see her son again. Then, without the baby to keep them striving toward the same goal, the healing relationship between Emma and Rumpelstiltskin would fall apart.

She got out of the car and found Emma waiting by the side door. Well, she should've expected this. She couldn't wait to hear the latest sob story.

"Ms. Swan, I need to remind you that you are trespassing."

"And I know that you opened my juvie records and have been slandering Graham by saying he hired me because he was attracted to me when I was fifteen."

"Well, there was no other understandable reason other than that as to why he'd hire you," Regina said with a sneer, "And why are you ashamed of your past if you're rebuilding your life, Ms. Gold? Don't want your family to know that you cut your baby's umbilical cord with a shiv?"

Emma's fist tightened and she thought that she was going to be punched. She welcomed the attack…Sidney and his camera was just a number press away on her speed dial.

"Perhaps we'll keep you on as deputy, sheriff," Regina said, taunting her even more when the attack didn't come, "We must keep an eye on you after all and no one else will hire you. You'll need to pay for your baby. Well, I suppose your father could but that's exactly what you want to avoid isn't it? You wouldn't be respectable. Have a good evening Ms. Swan, don't clean out your desk. You'll still be useful in showing Sidney the ropes. "

She brushed past Emma and went to unlock her door.

"Take Sidney off the ballot," Emma started, "Or I'll tell everyone about your vault."

Regina looked over her shoulder and scoffed, "Please Ms. Gold. I know that you're desperate but this is just pathetic."

"I stole all your hearts once," Emma said and gave Regina a cold smirk. Oh, Regina had never seen Emma this way before and it almost scared her, "Do you really think it's wise to say I'm bluffing?"

"No one will believe you."

"Why? Because you think that you'll be able to bury it? Sidney might try but I know a couple of his photographers. It'd be easy to get them down there. Or just show them video footage that I've already taken down there. I wonder what would happen if they saw Daniel?"

She was lying. She wouldn't do that. That was something that her father would threaten to do or even Regina herself would resort to. Her hammering heart was just adrenaline…Emma wouldn't do that.

But ever since Regina found out whom Emma was, Emma NEVER lied to her.

"And if I can get them down there," Emma continued, "And they see all those hearts and your weapons and Daniel…they'll put handcuffs on you so fast that you won't know what happened. But you won't be able to stay here…no, this story would be too big. They'd take you out of the town and…well…we all know what happens when one of you crosses the border."

Regina paled, "I die and the curse breaks…and the whole world will know about the magic and the beating hearts and you'll have scientists and journalists all up and down Main Street waiting to experiment on all your friends. Think of what they'd do to Rumpelstiltskin…think of what they'd do to Ruby. You're a savior, think of what they'd do to you."

"I wouldn't worry about that," Emma smirked, "Because when you're dead and the curse breaks, all I have to do is restore magic back and we'll go home. The scientists won't have time to set up their base of operations. And Grace will be reunited with Jefferson and my mother will be reunited with Charming and everything you sacrificed so hard to take away will be restored."

"Well Ms. Swan…now that you've told me your plan…"

"I'm not worried about that either," Emma said, "Because it took us a couple of days to move out your hearts. You couldn't do it by yourself. And the voting is tomorrow."

Regina was shaking with fury. No, she couldn't lose like this! She couldn't lose everything just because she wouldn't withdraw Sidney to appease this brat!

"I don't like the thought of you making this threat every time I do something you don't like Ms. Gold."

Emma leaned forward. Her eyes were furious and wild and Regina had _never _seen her like this. It was almost the first time that she was actually scared of what Emma could do, "Good."

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In making those threats, Emma was terrified that she had lost a bit of herself that made her good.

She'd won. She knew that from the furious look in Regina's eyes and she would be moving her stuff into the sheriff's desk. But Emma also knew that she had gone exactly against what she promised herself to do. She had blackmailed and she'd manipulated and it was exactly against her beliefs and it was against how she wanted to present herself.

It was something her father would do.

Well, it looked like she was more Gold than she wanted to believe.

Emma got away from the sidewalk and when she was out of sight, her emotions bot the better of her and she bent over and went into hyperventilations.

Her father had always told her that a parent would do anything when it came to them protecting their child. Emma had agreed with him to a point. Up until now, she had always disagreed due to the lives he'd manipulated and ruined.

And now here she was…ready to let Regina die to protect her child…all because of an off chance that getting this place of power would protect her and her loved ones.

She'd gone too far. She'd acted emotionally instead of logically and now she had to look at herself in the mirror and live with herself for being willing to take it as far as she had.

"Emma?"

She looked up to see her father and Jefferson walking toward her. Her father rushed ahead of Jefferson and reached her first. Without saying anything, Emma straightened and wrapped her arms around her father's neck.

"What happened?" Jefferson asked.

Emma ran a shaky hand through her hair and wiped her eyes. Her father looked at her in concern and wrapped his coat around her, "You're shaking."

"Where's David?"

"Mary Margaret has him."

Emma nodded. Good. She wanted him with someone that she trusted.

"What happened?" Jefferson demanded again, "Did she hurt you?"

"No," Emma said and refused to look at either one of them. Now that the anger was gone and confrontation was done, she felt very self-conscious. She'd never gone that far and the glee that she'd temporarily taken terrified her. If she was willing to go this far now then how far would she be willing to go later?

A plan presented itself. It was a far simpler plan and it might not work. However, Emma needed to get this taken care of. She should've done it years ago but up until now, they'd always had Graham's heart to keep it behaved.

What would he think if he knew what she'd threatened to do?

She looked at Jefferson and she felt her guilt melt into resolve, "I need your help again."


	65. Chapter 65

The voting election was supposed to be the next day but thanks to a 'sudden candidate withdrawal', most were turned away at the door of town hall.

The newspaper that morning announced Emma as the victor. Emma had to read between the lines to see that the article was painting Sidney as an underdog, running against the _evil _Gold clan. The article offered its congratulations to Emma but it was subtle enough to remind everyone of what Emma did in her life to land her in jail and pregnant.

At least the paper would make good fire kindling…

That morning, Emma did her best not to be in the sheriff's office. Thanks to the actions that she and Jefferson had done last night, Emma took out the sheriff's car, parked on a secluded road and slept. She hadn't exactly gotten much sleep last night and her muscled ached…there was just something about digging in the woods that wore her out and she was in as good a shape as she could ever hope to be.

Around noon, she woke up, brushed her hair and checked her messages. Nothing had happened while she was dead to the world. Although Mary Margaret had texted her ten minutes ago, she asked her to join Mary for lunch. Emma replied that she would and drove towards Granny's.

Emma walked into the restaurant with a sigh; she was trying to be excited that she'd retained her job. Maybe it hadn't sunk in yet.

Or maybe she was feeling guilty because she didn't win fairly. It was something that had weighed down on her since she'd threatened Regina. Graham wouldn't have wanted her to do that. She had told herself that she wanted to win fairly and be the bigger person but that had blown up in her face. She was more like her father than what either one would be comfortable with. Emma had told herself that she would never be like her father but here she was using his tactics.

Or maybe it was because the election had been today…and today was not a reason to celebrate.

"SURPRISE!"

Emma jumped at the scream…there was a congratulatory banner for her on the other side of the restaurant and the bar was lined with food.

Mary Margaret was there…as was Granny and Ruby…Leroy was there like he always was and some others were there that had claimed they would vote for her…Emma didn't really get to know them over the 20 years that she'd been here. She wondered if they would've voted for her or they just wanted free food and drinks from the party.

Her mother came up to her and hugged her, "Congratulations."

Emma managed a smile that fooled her mother, "What's this?"

"We had this stuff ready for you for when you won," Mary Margaret explained.

"Except I didn't win," Emma pointed out, "Sidney took himself off the ballot."

"Cause he knew that he would suck!" Ruby said and nearly hug tackled her too.

Granny scowled, "Ruby!"

Ruby returned the look, "It's true!"

"Language!"

Ruby scowled and turned back to Emma, "Congratulations, Emma."

"Thank you," Emma told her sincerely and accepted another hug from her mother.

There was a part of her that didn't want the attention, but there was also a part of her that enjoyed it.

She wasn't the savior to these people…at least not to their knowledge. She was just Emma Gold; a woman trying to keep her life on track. They supported her (well at least half of them that came to this party did), and hurt for her when Regina and Sidney played her games and celebrated with her when she made an accomplishment.

Emma wasn't someone that was going to save them in their eyes. Not yet. To them, she was a twenty year old girl and Storybrooke's youngest sheriff. No one knew what she'd been through or what she would go through and the reputation she had and the destiny that she carried with her wasn't thought about.

For that afternoon, Emma was _normal. _

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**One Month Ago**

"I don't know much about constellations," Emma told Graham as they both lay on the hood of the sheriff's car and stared at the night sky, "I know how to find the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper and how to find the North Star…but other than that, I don't know much."

"Graham did, he loved this sort of thing," he told her, Emma stared at him as he pointed to the sky and listed some of them and the stories that came with him. After the months of him being both confused and fascinated with the world when it was just them, it was good to see him happy and knowledgeable about something. Just the way his eyes lit up sent her stomach fluttering. He just looked so carefree and Emma couldn't wait until this curse business was over so that they could go home and she would see more of that look for the rest of their lives.

He finished the story and Emma couldn't…honestly say that she knew where any of the constellations were at. She'd been looking at him the whole time.

"Are they the same back home?" Emma asked.

"No, they're completely different and they have their own stories," the Huntsman told her, "I'll tell you them when we get home."

"And the kids will learn them?"

He didn't hesitate at the thought of childbearing like he normally did. Given his childhood, the idea of being a father scared him. He wasn't sure how to be a human father, "It'll be the first thing they learn. Knowing the stars and knowing how to navigate by them could mean the difference between life and death."

Emma took the opportunity to ask, since his guard was down, "And how many children do you think there should be?"

He hesitated and then looked at her, "Well, I don't know. It's a bit early to think about that, isn't it? You said that you weren't even sure we COULD have kids yet."

"It's not too early to think about it, it's the perfect time!" Emma protested, "And here we might not be able to but when we get over there…I'd like at least a couple more. I don't want like…eight or nine or anything like that…just maybe two or three"

He laid back on the hood in relief, "I think I can agree to that."

Emma smiled and kissed him. He passionately returned it but the intimacy didn't extend beyond that. They'd both agreed to wait and Emma didn't want their first time to be on the hood of the sheriff's car.

She wrapped her arm around him and cuddled closer.

"Emma?"

"What?"

"Would you honestly be happy in a cabin in the woods? Relying solely on what the land we owned could provide us?"

Emma thought about the castle and shuddered at the thought of living inside those giant drafty tombs. She'd grown up surrounded by woods. She explored them and connected with them. It's where she melted into when she wanted to be alone. It represented life to her…not some stone castle that she spent all of five minutes in before she was brutally ripped away. Besides, Graham would never step foot in a castle again. That saved her from all kinds of excuses as to why she should stay away from them.

"I'll be happy wherever you'll be," Emma told him, "As long as I have you and David then I don't need material goods."

He looked at her, "Because I can't give you the live that you're accustomed to having."

Emma kissed him again, "I don't care about any of that."

Graham put his hand against her face and Emma leaned her head toward the touch.

"Why should you love me?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same question," she told him. She spent several nights wondering how he could love her after she brutally woke him up for what a person could see as selfish reasons, "You're a far better person than you give yourself credit for."

Emma reached out to brush her knuckles against his face. He grabbed her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. Emma gave him another kiss and rested her head on his shoulder.

One more month….

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**Present Day**

Emma sat on the steps of her porch and stared up at the night sky…oh she wished she'd paid more attention to his stories now that he was gone.

"Hey," Jefferson jogged up the stairs, "I heard that there was going to be a bit of a celebration for us and your dad was making a cake. Please say it was chocolate. I do hope that it's chocolate."

Emma cleared her throat and tried to fake a smile, "Yeah he's…trying to manage it in the kitchen. I should go in there and help him…"

"It's a celebration for _you," _he pointed out, but the smile was gone, "Are you're alright?"

Figured that her smile couldn't fool him. She looked down at the rings in her possession and drew a breath, "We were supposed to be married today."

He gave her an understanding look and went to sit with her, "And everyone's walking around congratulating you for a different reason than what you were hoping for."

Emma wiped a tear from her face, "I was hoping that…if time passed it wouldn't hurt this badly…I hoped that with the election, I could get my mind off it. I wanted to do right by Graham and instead I blackmail and scheme my way into getting his job. It's a…shame to his memory."

"I hate to tell you this Emma but Graham wasn't completely good in such a way that he would look down on what you did. He was once willing to kill an innocent girl if it meant that men would stop hunting wolves…who were his family."

"But he didn't kill her," Emma pointed out, "And he tried to be better."

Jefferson watched her, "Why did you blackmail Regina?"

"You know why I did it."

"I want you to tell me again."

Emma sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "I did it because…it was what Graham would've wanted, and because it would give me a place of power so that I could protect the town from _her_, and because I knew that the moment I was taken from my job; she'd immediately try to take David from us."

"Your father could use his 'please' deal with her."

Emma scoffed, "She'd find another way to get at him, you know that."

"So then you did what you did to protect your son and the town. Why should Graham's memory be damaged from that? I'm sure he would definitely understand."

"Because it's the fact that I was willing to go that far," Emma said, "I'm supposed to be better than that. I'm supposed to take the high road and if I start down that path of manipulation with good intentions…where does it end? How far is too far? It was a little too easy to resort to blackmail and that scares me."

"Emma, you do know that there will be times in your life in which you'll have to make hard decisions that look like there's no winning and you may have no choice but to resort to less than savory means to get things done."

"I know," Emma whispered, "I just wish that I could've thought of another way."

"Sometimes you won't have time to do that," he told her, "Sometimes there won't be another way."

Emma nodded, "I know. It just hurts so much that it's nice to pretend."

He put a reassuring hand on her knee, "I know that it hurts, and I understand the self-loathing that you feel on top of your loss. Trust me, I know."

Emma clenched the rings in her hand, "It's only been two weeks since he's been gone…"

"Time drags along at first," he told her, "But one day…it'll feel like a normal day. One day, you'll smile again without feeling guilty because you know that you should be mourning. One day, the pain will still be there but it'll be a distant throbbing instead of an ever present one. One day, you'll love again."

"I'll never love anyone again," Emma said. She wasn't talking about not loving David or her father or her mother or Jefferson…she was talking about romance. She'd been hurt so bad twice. The idea of opening her heart again just made her feel ill.

"Yes you will," Jefferson said, "You'll find someone and you'll fall in love with him and have children…it doesn't mean that you won't love Graham…it just means that you can love someone else."

"I won't," Emma said stubbornly.

"Emma," he whispered, "You are far too young and pretty to be this bitter. The manipulation that you resorted to that scared you is what you need to survive. Use it when you have to. However this anger you're feeling…is what you should be afraid of. It'll eat away at you. Trust me, take the time to mourn. As long as you want. But don't make it forever. Don't harden your heart. Not every man is going to die or leave you, okay?"

Except all the men here were frozen in time and she knew that when they all woke up, the chances of her finding someone that loved her for her would lessen. They wouldn't see her; they would just see the savior.

"Okay," she whispered.

"Okay," he finished and helped her up, "Now, there probably won't be many celebrations in our lives, so we should celebrate with the opportunities that we have."

Emma returned the embrace that he gave her.

"Let's get some cake," he finished.

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Convincing Sidney to withdraw his candidacy hadn't taken long. He confided to Regina that he didn't even want to be sheriff anyway. He only did it because she asked him to.

Sometimes walking all over him was easy. There was no challenge in it and that bored her.

She spent the night in her office; she didn't need to sleep because Emma's threats infuriated her enough to keep her awake. She plotted what she could do.

Emma couldn't exactly claim that she was better now…with what she'd resorted to. Regina could go on trying to corrupt her but when Rumpelstiltskin caught on, he'd make sure to make her life miserable. Regina had already gotten the letter that he was raising her rent.

Again.

Sick twisted imp.

At the end of the night, she had no solutions for what she could do. Emma had won this round and the very idea sent waves of anger through Regina. The little harpie had already taken Graham from her. It was Emma's fault that he was dead. If she'd left well enough alone then he'd still be alive.

She spent the night plotting but the day was spent with people calling her. Regina's supporters were concerned about Sidney's withdrawal. They told her that Sidney deserved the spot because of his years of experience. They slammed Emma's reputation just as viciously as Regina had and questioned the idea of giving the Golds any more power than what they already had.

Regina agreed, like she always did. She fanned the flames to make sure that Emma could never restore a completely good reputation in this town with everyone. The calls lasted throughout the day. Some of them lasted at least an hour of her reassuring them that she would handle Emma.

Leroy called; drunk as usual, yelled something about 'Emma forever' and then hung up. Regina wondered if he did it just to get free drinks at Widow Lucas's diner.

Finally the evening to that…horrifically long day ended and she bought some lilies and went to the mausoleum. She needed to return back to her roots…meditate around things from home and see if her mind could clear up.

She lost this round. She could win others.

Regina braced herself and pushed the coffin.

It wouldn't' budge.

Confused; Regina blinked and tried again, but to no avail.

What in the name of the gods….

Regina circled around and looked down at the sliding mechanism to see what was wrong.

They weren't…there anymore. Well, of course they were there but someone had covered it up with what looked like new concrete.

Regina investigated closer to see that they'd covered the whole bottom of the coffin with concrete…If Regina checked, then she might find the whole coffin was filled with concrete…

She didn't though. She threw the flowers away angrily and turned to storm out.

She was going to kill Emma Gold.

There was a note taped to the inside of the door. Regina ripped it off and yanked it open.

There was a map of the cemetery with a spot marked behind it. Right next to the spot, there was a note.

_It felt wrong to leave your fiancé down there, so we did what you refused to do and gave him a proper burial. Just like you should have done forty years go. You can pay your respects there. _

They took her sanctuary from her AND put their hands on her true love.

Regina crumbled the note and threw it angrily.

She wouldn't rush to her next plan. She would think it out. They deserved it after this.

But whatever the plans would be, she was going to make sure that it involved Jefferson's downfall.


	66. Chapter 66

Before Emma opened her eyes, she could hear the pattering sound of her three year old's feet as he raced down the hall. Quickly, Emma threw the covers over her head as he burst into the room, "Mama! Happy birthday!"

He scrambled up on the bed and when he was close; she threw the covers back, and grabbed him. He squealed and laughed when she tickled his sides, lifted him up and playfully tossed him on the bed. He landed and then ran back up to try and wrestle with her. Like their morning routine, she teasingly pretended that his childlike attacks hurt and then said she gave up**.**

"You know something…I think someone else's birthday is going to be in a couple of months," Emma tapped his nose playfully, "I wonder how it could be."

David bounced on her stomach, "It's going to be me!"

"Oh really," she looked thoughtful, "I didn't know that!"

He gave her an exaggerated look that said he didn't buy it. Emma grabbed his sides and tickled him again. He giggled and she gave him a little kiss on the cheek, "Mama, I'm hungry."

"I think I am too," Emma told him in faux seriousness. Oh she never regretted keeping him. She loved him and his innocent sweetness and she would never be able to replace these moments with anything in the world, "What do you think I should have to eat on my birthday?"

"Pancakes!"

"What kind of pancakes?" Emma asked, even though she knew where it was going.

"Chocolate Chip!"

Despite herself, Emma smiled, "I think that's YOUR favorite kind."

"Nuh-uh! It's yours!"

Emma pulled him into a suffocating hug and sat up, "Well I better get us some to eat then. Go find grandpa and let me get dressed."

"Okay."

"And don't wrestle with him!" Emma called as he raced for his grandfather's bedroom. When he was gone, she grabbed her pants and tank top, "He's not getting any younger."

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It was a bit insulting that Emma was making her own birthday breakfast but no one could make the chocolate chip pancakes like she could. At least that's what her family believed. Her father's specialty was the cinnamon pancakes (which happened to be her favorite, Emma wondered how David thought chocolate chip pancakes were superior) and he never bothered to even try to make the chocolate chip ones right. He used to pat her on the head and ask why he should mess with perfection when Emma could just cook them.

So, she stood in her jeans and tank top with David sitting on the counter with her. He claimed he was helping. This meant that Emma did all the work and he just poured the ingredients in and stirred for her. He thought he was doing her a world of favors, so she just let him think that.

Her father came in from the back door and she tilted her head, "David said he couldn't find you."

"Yes, well I couldn't sleep and just got up about three in the morning," he kissed her cheek warmly but she could feel some of the tension in his hands, "Happy birthday, sweetheart."

"Thank you, dad," she whispered. It was getting harder and harder for him emotionally now that she was getting closer to her 28th birthday. He tried to put on a show of being warm and supportive but she knew that deep down he was depressed and facing the reality that his little girl was growing up and what peace they'd built would be shattered.

If only she could convince him that she appreciated everything he'd lovingly done for her.

"Are those chocolate chip pancakes?" he asked with humor in his voice.

"Yes," Emma said and struggled to hide a smile, "_My favorite_."

HE smiled back and ruffled David's hair, "Are you helping your mother?"

"Uh huh!"

"Good boy," Rumpelstiltskin smiled, "Are you taking him for the morning?"

"I don't see why not…," Emma told her dad, "My Tuesday mornings are slow and you have that…school board meeting about the nature hike and scavenger hunt that you have every year."

"Remind me why I'm on all those boards again?"

Emma poured the batter into the skillet, "Because you're a pillar of the community."

He didn't bother to hide rolling his eyes, "I'd rather be babysitting."

Emma flipped the pancakes over, "You're not going to know what to do when he starts school here in a few months.

Rumpelstiltskin was quiet. Just another sign that his family was growing up and he couldn't stop it, "Watch him this morning and I'll pick him up after lunch."

"At last you'll get a good nap," Emma offered but the humor was gone.

He was quiet for a second as well, "It just gets harder and harder to see you grow up; for many reasons."

"I know," Emma said quietly. There were times when she just wished that David was a baby that she could hold again without him being so heavy. But she knew that she only felt a taste of the torment her dad felt thanks to his own self-confidence issues. She'd accepted a long time ago that she was just going to have to prove that she loved and valued him because he certainly wasn't going to accept it if she just told him.

Emma finished the pancakes and started putting them on the plate, "Breakfast."

Her father looked a bit sad, "I'm not that hungry Emma."

"Nonsense," Emma said and gave him his plate, "David helped me make them and besides….they're my _favorite." _

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Emma held her son's hand as they walked into the police department, "What do you think mama should get for her birthday?"

"I think you want a horse!"

Oh, he thought he was being smart about this, did he? "We'll see. What else do you think she should have? "

"A sword!"

"But I already have a sword," Emma said with a scowl. Her soon to be four year old was NOT touching a blade, "it was your grandfather's and he gave it to me."

"You should get another one."

"Sweetie, I think swords are hard to come by here," Emma said and guided him in the room.

David gasped, Emma looked up to see what he was staring at and she saw a ginormous bouquet of white roses on the closest desk. She didn't breathe as she stared at it for several seconds. She was only vaguely aware of her son pulling on her arm.

She snapped out of her reverie and looked down at David, "Why don't you go play?"

He ran into the unused office where his toys were and carried some of them to the office that she occupied. When he was gone, she drew a shaky breath and stared at the gorgeous arrangement. Jefferson bought it. He had to have. He always bought her flowers for her birthday and he was the only other one besides her and her father to have a key.

"Oo, someone's got an admirer, sister."

Emma scowled, "Shut up, Leroy and finish sleeping it off."

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"So I fell asleep and started snoring and the meeting had to dismiss early because no one could focus," Rumpelstiltskin said, "What's that they get for having this meeting on your birthday."

Emma laughed, "Regina must've been furious."

"She glared at me the entire time," he smirked, "So how was your day?"

Emma sat cross-legged in her chair and stirred the chili in her bowl. She debated on telling her father about the bouquet but she knew that would start a world of problems. If he didn't get worried about Jefferson's show of affection then he was going to be pissed that Jefferson bought them from Moe; the man that caused Belle's death. Rumpelstiltskin used him as a verbal and emotional punching bag here; he never bothered to hide his disdain for the man, even when Emma was younger.

And while Emma could understand why her father loathed him, his hands weren't exactly clean of blood and he wasn't exactly guiltless over how he treated his children. She knew the kind of fight _that _would start.

When he'd come by to pick David up, Emma had put the bouquet in the unused office. She'd figure out what to do with it later. Maybe she'd tell her dad tomorrow about it. There wasn't anything to hide; she didn't know why she was feeling so guilty about it. He bought her white roses all the time for her birthday. They were her favorite.

He just never bought an arrangement that was so large.

It was probably nothing though. Jefferson enjoyed being eccentric every now and then. One time to alleviate boredom, he tilled his entire backyard and turned it into a vegetable garden because he thought it might be fun…and then he got bored with it before the first year.

So it was nothing. He was just being him. No reason to try and make a rift over something like that.

"Oh, you know," Emma said and took a bite of her dinner, "Just another birthday

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"Mama."

Emma groaned into her pillow when she felt the small hand shaking her awake. Without opening her eyes, she turned over on her back and felt for her son, "Sweetie, did you have a bad dream?"

"I don't feel good."

Emma's eyes shot open and she turned on her lamp, "Come here."

She put him on her bed and felt his lymph nodes, "Let me see your throat."

He stuck his tongue out and opened his mouth. Emma nodded and grabbed her robe, "Let's go get grandpa."

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Rumpelstiltskin shined the penlight into David's mouth, "We could take him to the hospital again."

Emma shuddered, that was the second place in Storybrooke that she hated going to, "I want your opinion first, you're 300 years old, I would like to think you have some medical knowledge under all that magic stuff."

"If I tell you what you don't want to hear, will you take him to the hospital?"

Emma felt her stomach clench, "It's tonsillitis?"

"It is," he kissed his grandson's forehead.

Emma sighed and rubbed her eyes, "Third time in two months."

"You know what this will probably mean," he said and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," Emma whispered and pulled off her robe on the way out of the bathroom, "I know."


	67. Chapter 67

Emma, ever since she was old enough to know Dr. Whale's identity, had been terrified of him. It wasn't because he was as evil as her father could be or Regina…he hadn't done anything that bad as compared to their sins…but there was something unsettling about the best doctor in the hospital be a man that cut into dead bodies to preserve his dead brother so that he could bring him to life one day.

Just the idea creeped her out. He messed with the dead…and she didn't like him touching her or her son.

But he was also the most skilled surgeon in the hospital so she swallowed her bias and allowed him to check her son's vitals and throat, "This is the third time in two months, Ms. Gold."

"I know," Emma said and looked down at the boy in her lap. He was tired. She wanted nothing more than to take him home and put him to bed.

"Ms. Gold…this wouldn't be my first choice but when there are repeated cases of tonsillitis, the best option is a tonsillectomy."

Emma didn't have to know the medical dialogue to know what that was, 'You want to take them out."

"He's just going to continue to have this problem unless we remo-."

"No," Emma said and held her son a lot closer to her chest and fought the rising panic of what she knew was inevitable, "No, he's just a baby still."

"It wouldn't be my first option either but he's going to continue to have this problem, Ms. Gold…I can set up a surgery as quickly as the day after tomorrow."

Victor Frankenstein, the body butcher taking out her son's tonsils? Couldn't they have someone else do it? No, he was the best surgeon and Emma didn't want anyone less to touch her son.

Unless he was Victor Frankenstein…and she didn't want him touching her boy either.

"Isn't there another way?"

"We've tried all the other ways."

Emma didn't want to make this decision…she didn't want her son under some kind of scalpel in a room where she couldn't protect him, "I need to consider it."

"you shouldn't have to consider it, Ms. Gold this is the best way to make sure your son is well and you don't have to worry about a tonsillectomy, we doctors have been doing it for hundreds of years…there are very few things that could go wrong. It'll be in and out and he'll go home and he'll be _fine._"

Emma stood and balanced her son on her him. HE put his arms around her neck and leaned his head on her shoulder, "I'll need to consider it."

"Ms. Gold-."

"Dr. Whale," Emma said sharply, "It's three in the morning and you've just told me that my son needs surgery to help him. He is only three years old and I don't…I don't want him to go through that. I need some time to consider it."

She grabbed her purse and walked out to the waiting room where her father was seated.

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"He needs them out, Emma."

Emma took her gaze away from the passenger window as they drove home, "I know."

"He won't get sick if they take them out."

"I know," she repeated.

"Then what is the difficulty?" her father demanded as he slowed down to the stoplight

"Oh gee, I don't know…how about the man operating on David would be a disgraced former surgeon who only knows about protocols of this world because a curse told him? How about because that same man used to dig up the dead to replace parts of his brother? How about because he stood by and let his monster brother murder his father?"

"He doesn't remember that"

"There's enough of their former life, memory, and personality to serve as an anchor for them so that it's easier for them when the curse is broken…there's still Victor kicking around inside his head somewhere. And I know that he loved his brother but mutilating the dead isn't how he should've proved it. The idea of him operating on my baby freaks me out."

"And are your other options? Give him throat lozenges and hope for the best?"

Emma looked at her father and then in the back of her sleeping son, "Could Regina have done this?"

He was quiet for a second and Emma knew that he'd been considering it too, "Luckily for us…Regina is not that subtle. As fun as it would be to blame her on every bad thing that happens, sometimes these things are natural."

Emma ran her hand through her hair. It was three in the morning and she was exhausted. Paranoia usually came a lot more naturally when she was tired.

"Emma…," her father began, "Trust me, I understand why you're reluctant to let him touch David but you have to remember that he's not Victor Frankenstein. He's Dr. Whale…certified medical doctor and best one at the hospital."

"What if I took him to Boston?"

Rumpelstiltskin looked sharply at her and pulled into the driveway, "Emma...I couldn't be there with you if you went to Boston. And you know that I would want to be there as well"

"He'd have a certified surgeon though."

"And you'd be driving four hours there and back for something that you can get on the other side of town. Emma, it'll be a day surgery…do you really want to drive eight hours with a sick boy and then a hurting boy? Trust me, I don't want Victor Frankenstein operating on him either, but we have to accept that he's not Frankenstein and he won't hurt David. Of course you'll have the decision to do what you think is best because you're his mother. I just ask you to be practical."

Emma knew that he had several good points. And she wanted him to be operated on at home…no, she honestly didn't want him being operated on at all. IN fact just the idea sent waves of fear through her. Things went wrong in the operating room all the time and he was only three years old…just the thought of him being in danger from something that she couldn't protect him from terrified her. Better a threat she knew than one she didn't.

And since she was terrified, she really wanted her father to be there with her, "Okay."

"Alright?"

"Okay," she said in frustration and opened the passenger door, "I just hope I don't end up regretting this."

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Rumpelstiltskin could not sleep.

For all his bravado and how he presented himself as the calm rational mentor and father, he was as terrified as Emma was about the thought of David being operated on by doctors who weren't really doctors.

He heard Emma leaving her room several times. David's room was right next to his, so he could hear Emma opening that door to check on David but at about five in the morning, she stopped leaving her room. HE hoped that she was getting some sleep.

He however, could not. He wanted to but he couldn't sleep. How he longed for the days when his body wasn't fragile and mortal and he could go for the rest of his immortal life without the need for sleep.

But he wasn't that beast anymore…and lack of sleep was one of the few things that he truly missed.

About five thirty his door opened and David slipped in. Rumpelstiltskin closed the book that he wasn't really focusing on anyway and sat up, "You still feeling ill?"

David nodded and reached for him. Sometimes his grandson came to him instead of Emma when he was feeling ill. Rumpelstiltskin tried not to coddle him, but when the boy was giving him the big eyes that reminded him of Snow White and Emma when they wanted something.

"Alright," he relented and pulled him up on the bed. David scrambled under the covers and coughed. Rumpelstiltskin put his book on the nightstand and turned off the light. Immediately David squirmed under the heavy covers till he was planted right against his grandfather's back. The boy was shivering and Rumpelstiltskin didn't know if it was because he was sick or because he had some idea of what was going on.

"It'll be alright, David," he told the boy and stared into the darkness, "We'll make you well again."

"I'm scared," the boy whispered in the darkness.

"We won't let anything happen to you," he promised…but he wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to protect him from this.

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Emma agreed to Dr. Whale's offer (Very reluctantly) and the surgery was scheduled to start early in the morning.

Neither one slept that night, they both sat in David's room and watched him sleep peacefully. His throat was better and Emma knew that she could put it off…but she knew that it was inevitable.

Four in the morning, Emma woke her son, got him dressed and put him in her father's car. She sat with him in the backseat while her father drove them to the hospital and she held him protectively against her chest while admission was set up and completed.

"Mama, what's wrong?"

"It's okay, David," she whispered as he lay there on the bed, "We're just going to make you feel better, alright? They're going to take your tonsils out and you'll be hurting for a while but Grandpa and I are going to make sure that you feel better. It's going to be scary but we're going to be here for you and I promise that nothing bad is going to happen."

He started crying when they hooked him up to the IV and Emma felt her heart break. She gathered her emotions so that she didn't cry in front of him.

Her father looked just as stricken as she felt and looked up at her…he looked so much like a kicked puppy…

It only hurt more when they came to take him away.

Emma walked alongside the gurney for as long as they would allow her, "David, you're going to be fine."

"Yes," Rumpelstiltskin said from behind her, "This is the best doctor that's going to work on you."

They reached the doors that led to the operating room and Emma pushed her hair over her shoulder and kissed her son, "We'll be waiting for you when you're out."

"Mama?" he asked a little frightened when they wheeled him through the doors.

And as soon as the doors were closed, Emma put her hands over her mouth and broke down. That was her son in there…he hadn't even started school yet and here he was getting an operation and Emma just didn't know how she was supposed to handle that.

"Emma," her father wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed…what if something went wrong? What if they failed or messed up? There were reports like that on the news all the time.

What if he died? Or…woke up during the surgery. These weren't real surgeons…they might not know how much anesthesia to give him or something….

She knew as far as surgies went, this was one of the more minor ones, but that didn't comfort her.

Her son was far too young to face something this big without her and there was nothing that she, a savior of a world, could do but sit out there and wait.


	68. Chapter 68

Rumpelstiltskin watched his daughter pace up and down the hospital waiting room, "Emma…would you like something to drink?"

"No," she snapped.

He really wished that she would sit down, she was making him uneasy. He imagined if his leg didn't lock up on him, he'd be pacing as well.

It had taken him…a shamefully long time for him to admit that he loved his daughter. Sure, he had said it and he had felt the love when she was growing up but it wasn't until he lost her and got her back that he realized how much he needed and loved and valued her. He got through his trust issues…or at least some of them…when Emma returned and he could say without a doubt that he did love her. Probably not in the unconditional curse breaking way but a parent's love could manifest itself in different forms. He had learned not to love her just because she was the savior but because she was Emma…

And once he learned to trust himself and forgive himself enough so that he could love Emma, the barriers broke down and he loved his grandson without question. He had started off as such a serious baby but once he began to grow, he began to form an attachment with Rumpelstiltskin. There was several times where the child would imitate exactly what he was doing when he was watching him in the shop.

Whatever heart Rumpelstiltskin had left had been touched by the boy and so it was just as devastating to him as it was to Emma as the seconds slowly ticked by.

Mary Margaret came into the waiting room and hugged Emma, "I'm sorry, the alarm clock didn't go off and I got dressed and came here as soon as I could."

Rumpelstiltskin watched as she wrapped her arms around her daughter. Emma just barely returned the embrace.

"Have you heard anything?"

"No," Emma said with a weak voice, "We should've heard something by now though…I think something's wrong."

"If there was something wrong, then we would know it," Rumpelstiltskin told her, "It's their job to inform us of those situations."

Emma put her folded hands in front of her mouth and just continued pacing. He knew that look; she was going through a thousand different scenarios in her head about what might be going on and none of them ended well. They were all probably worse as she continued to think about them.

Mary Margaret sat next to him, "Mr. Gold…how are you doing?"

"My grandson is in surgery," he said and tried not to think about scenarios of his own. In truth, he was terrified as well. If something happened to that boy….Rumpelstiltskin didn't even want to think about losing yet another child that was supposed to be in his care. It would break both him and his daughter, "How do you think I'm feeling?"

"Oh, I see," she said meekly, Emma shot him a glare that made him feel almost guilty for snapping at her mother.

"Sorry I'm late," Jefferson apologized as he came into the waiting room.

Rumpelstiltskin stifled a groan; gods, what was _he _doing here?

He had come to…tolerate the hatter and what the hatter had done for his family but that didn't mean he had a place in all this.

Emma let him kiss her on the cheek and that was alright…but when he rubbed her back then Rumpelstiltskin's eyes narrowed. Just what did he think he was doing getting that close?

"How is he?"

"We don't…," Emma rubbed her temple, "We don't know. They're not telling us anything and I'm getting fed up."

Emma started pacing again, "You know what's ridiculous?"

"What?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma stared at her father and Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin knew that this was meant for them, "That I can fight to protect my son and everyone here from…the forces that could harm them and they can still get hurt."

"That's natural," Mary Margaret tried to soothe, "Sometimes these things just happen."

"Not to us," Emma muttered.

Did she really still think Regina was behind this somehow? He didn't see how. Her magic was depleted, he'd known about _that _for quite some time but he wasn't sure how or when she'd wasted it all. Could it be that she'd made a potion for David and just waited until she could use it?

No, she wouldn't wait that long and she certainly wouldn't have been subtle about it.

"Emma," Rumpelstiltskin started, "I think Mary Margaret is right…these things just _happen_. Sometimes children get stick and it's no one's fault but natures…do you understand what I'm telling you?"

He was trying to tell her that they couldn't blame this on Regina…he didn't like rehashing old conversations but he really needed to put his daughter's suspicions to rest before her beliefs turned into truths in her mind.

Emma's gaze softened and her gaze filled with tears, "I don't know what to do! I don't know how to protect him from this…anything else I would know about. I could rely on others but…I don't know how to handle this one.

"Better the dangers you know than the dangers you don't," Jefferson muttered. Rumpelstiltskin looked at him and honestly didn't like the look he'd been given Emma for the better part of three months. They had a deal, and he realized he was going to have to remind Jefferson of that again and put to rest any feelings that the Hatter might have of his daughter.

Besides, he justified, she still screamed out for Graham in her sleep. That wouldn't do well for a new relationship.

They looked up as Doctor Whale came into the waiting room. Rumpelstiltskin nudged Emma with his cane and nodded to the man. Emma turned and when she saw him, she rushed forward, "How is he?"

"He's going to be alright," Dr. Whale promised and Emma let out a full breath of air and put her hands over her mouth, "Can I see him?"

"Yes."

Emma turned and grabbed her father's hand, gave it a squeeze and then followed the nurse to where David was probably sleeping

Rumpelstiltskin walked forward, "When can we take him home?"

"A little bit after he wakes up and we can make sure there were no complications."

"Were there any complications?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"No," Dr. Whale said, "He pulled through just fine."

He was telling the truth…of course he was. He had no reason to lie.

Oh Rumpelstiltskin wanted to see his grandson so badly but he knew he also did not want to waste time in getting him home.

"Shall we get started on the discharge papers then?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

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He looked so tiny and frail lying there on the bed…with the tubes and attachments and if Emma didn't love or want to protect her son already then she wanted to protect him even more now.

Mary Margaret had accompanied her to the room and she was grateful because she wasn't sure how she would've held herself up if she was just in here by herself staring at her son and the weak rising and falling of his chest.

Emma felt the tears falling as she went to her son's side and ran a hand through his brown hair.

She wanted to take him home as soon as possible…wrap him up in one of his blankets and just hold him and apologize over and over that she couldn't protect him.

Emma wasn't even aware that she was sobbing until Mary Margaret wrapped her arms around her comfortingly.

She couldn't protect him from this...and while that was acceptable on its own, she'd done a great job screwing up everything else set before her as well.

If she couldn't even protect her family then what good was she?

**A/N: So…new episode answered some questions about how life was like in Storybrooke at first….and since I found that format to be utterly stupid (How did Henry learn anything?) We're just sticking with the premise that these characters are just living their lives frozen in time and not noticing. **


	69. Chapter 69

Everyone knew that Mr. Gold did not shop at Mr. Clark's Grocery Store. He wouldn't be seen dead in that store. He sent a monthly grocery paycheck and had his groceries delivered on his doorstep. Mr. Clark could only remember Mr. Gold coming in when he had Emma with him and she had done something to earn getting some sort of candy bar.

When the grandson came along, Mr. Gold had added candy bars on his grocery orders when the boy was old enough to eat them.

Well they said that grandchildren softened even some of the harshest men.

Mr. Clark wasn't expecting a big day; it was the middle of the week. Nothing ever happened in the middle of the week.

He wasn't expecting a big day and he REALLY wasn't expecting Mr. Gold to be outside in his store waiting for him to open up.

"Hello Mr. Clark," the man greeted.

Mr. Clark felt chills as the man's unblinking gaze drilled through him. Every single thing that man said sounded like a threat or a private joke or a secret. It was off putting and it was disturbing. He wondered how Emma could grow up half normal with this cold hearted greedy tyrant as a dad.

He wasn't trying to be mean…Mr. Gold just scared him.

"Mr. Gold," Mr. Clark said and then sneezed into his handkerchief. The landlord made a disgusted face and Mr. Clark realized that shaking his hand might not be the best offer, "What can I do for you? I-Is David okay?"

"Yes, the operation was successful," Mr. Gold said, "His mother's taking him home now."

"I'm glad to hear that," Mr. Clark said. He did have a soft spot for Emma and her son since they'd grown up under his watch…well…'watch' wasn't a good word for it. He didn't influence everything but he did make sure they had healthy food to eat all their lives so…he was responsible he supposed, "Is there something that I can do for you?"

"David...is going to need something to sooth his throat. I've…heard that ice cream is the best treatment for it. David's favorite is chocolate. Do you have any?"

"Yes," Mr. Clark started.

"Wonderful, I'll take it."

"Okay Mr. Gold…how much do you want?"

"You don't understand," Mr. Gold said with a 'duh' in his voice, "The amount you have in stock…I'll take it."

Mr. Clark paled, "All of it?"

"Yes," Mr. Gold looked confused, "I'm not sure I stuttered or my intentions were unclear."

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Emma was already home by the time Rumpelstiltskin arrived to the driveway. She didn't answer his text so he figured she must be asleep.

He moved the 12 gallons of ice cream to the two freezers downstairs in the basement and put two more gallons in the freezer of the kitchen so that they'd have something to eat later.

Like he suspected, he found Emma and David asleep in her room. Emma hadn't even changed out of her clothes but David was already dressed in his favorite PJs. Emma was between her son and the door. She slept on her side with her arms wrapped around David. She was curled around him like she was even protecting him while she slept. David was tucked against his mother. He held onto her shirt while he slept. His favorite teddy bear (a gift from Graham that Emma found after he passed) lay tucked into the bed next to David. The book that Mary Margaret had given them about home was at the foot of the bed.

Rumpelstiltskin watched the scene before him for a few minutes and just for a second pretended that they were normal. He moved into the room and put the book on the nightstand.

This house was cold. He shivered at the temperature of the house and grabbed the comforter. Emma stirred when he pulled the covers over her shoulder. She stretched her legs, "I stopped wanting to be tucked in when I was seven."

"Well David likes to be tucked in and I can't tuck him in because you're wrapped around him," he put a hand on her shoulder, "Go back to sleep."

"How long have you been home?" she whispered sleepily.

"I just arrived," he told her, "Is he okay?"

"He was crying that his throat was hurt him, but he'll pull through," Emma brushed her son's hair from his face and kissed his forehead, "He's a Gold."

He was a Charming but Rumpelstiltskin appreciated Emma's efforts.

"Get some sleep," he whispered, "I'll check on him later."

Emma's head collapsed on the pillow and he left the room and silently closed the door.

He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep, so he went downstairs.

At least he had the Lord of the Rings extended edition to keep his mind busy.

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He was about to change the Two Towers to the second disk when someone knocked on the door.

It was Jefferson. The man was standing among a pile of gifts that several others had apparently left on the porch for David to make him feel better.

Rumpelstiltskin stared at them and then at him, "Which one is yours?"

"Oh none," Jefferson said jovially and pulled out a card, "This is for David."

He looked at the card and then opened it and saw the picture that came with it, "You bought him a horse?"

"And Emma's horse," Jefferson told him and put his hands in his pockets. Rumpelstiltskin looked back at the photo. Jefferson had actually bought Emma a pony all those years ago that…memorable Thanksgiving when she had announced her matrimonial intentions at the tender age of eight. He'd only done it because Rumpelstiltskin had told Emma that he would and got her hopes up. And Emma learned to take care of it and ride.

Rumpelstiltskin sold that stallion for far less the asking price when she ran away.

"Mr. March," Rumpelstiltskin started, using Jefferson's fake last name for…the first time in memory, "There's been something I've been meaning to discuss with you about your relationship with my family."

"Okay," Jefferson crossed his arms and waited for him to continue.

"We made a deal, several years back, when Emma was fifteen years old which stated that you were not at any time to form feelings for her in a way that would require you wanting to bring her with you when we went home. We agreed that in payment of that deal, I would give you and your daughter no memory of this life here and I would assist both of you home to the old world where you could live a life without torment."

"I'm very aware," Jefferson said tensely. Rumpelstiltskin noticed that he wrapped his arms around himself even more.

"I am aware that your feelings for Emma were very platonic since she was fifteen years old and I ask that you continue to keep it that way in light of the deal we made when she was that age."

Jefferson's gaze darkened at the accusing tone in his voice, "What are you implying?"

"I am aware that Emma is very attractive and I am also aware that both you and she share a close bond."

And now Jefferson was angry, "I've never touched your daughter."

"Oh I know," Rumpelstiltskin said calmly, "I know you're not stupid. I know that you feel close to her and I know that you feel close to David but I urge you not to become too close. Need I remind you that you saw her grow up?"

"Everyone saw her grow up," Jefferson said, "Graham watched her grow up."

"But she and Graham did not start to acquaint themselves until Emma was older."

"And who else will Emma have?" Jefferson challenged, "Who else knows about what she's gone through and who can connect with her?"

"What will all that mean when she finds out that you were willing to sacrifice your friendship and memories of her if it meant that you could get your daughter back and go home?"

"And what would that mean for her relationship with you when she finds out that you pushed for such a deal?" Jefferson challenged, "I'm not looking to make a play for your daughter."

"The large birthday bouquet, glances and small touches say otherwise."

"Is that what this is all about?" Jefferson asked, "I ordered a large arrangement of flowers so that Moe could make rent. I know you loathe him for whatever reason but I felt it might be cruel to make him lose his house and possibly his job. He makes the best flower arrangements in town after all. My buying that bouquet was innocent but you wouldn't be able to see that, would you? You're too scared at the idea of losing or sharing Emma and David to even consider what they would want to be happy and so you manipulate and threaten to make sure you keep the status quo."

"How dare you," Rumpelstiltskin hissed and took a step forward. Jefferson glared at him and held his ground. His eyes dared him to make a move.

"When I opened my doors to you Jefferson, it was extremely reluctantly. However, there have been several times that you've proved yourself and I appreciate everything you've done to keep Emma and David safe. But I also know what you did and what you were all those years ago and I know that you may have changed and if you have then that's fantastic. But I'm not prepared to risk my daughter's safety and happiness to make sure that's right. Remember our deal, Jefferson. Hold to it. Otherwise, should you break it, then Grace will have those two voices in her head…just like you do and just like I do and just like Graham did. And that would be unfortunate because I wouldn't want that to happen to the child any more than you would."

He slammed the door in his face and went to the living room.

And when he was gone, Emma wiped the tears from her eyes, stood up from her hidden position on the stairs and walked back to her room.


	70. Chapter 70

Rumpelstiltskin knew that something was wrong the moment he came up from the basement and saw his daughter fuming at the dinner table. She may have been good at hiding her emotions in public but he'd lived with her for about 20 years. He knew her better than she knew herself.

"Sweetheart," he greeted and moved to the refrigerator, "How's David?"

"He's still resting," Emma said in a clipped tone.

"Well we should get dinner going, then," he moved to the cabinet, "Do you think that David will want to eat? I mean that child could eat ice cream all day and not get sick of it. He probably isn't hungry. I think 14 gallons might've been overdoing it though…well it's a good thing we both enjoy chocolate ice cream as well."

"Dad," Emma started and messed with a napkin, "We need to talk."

He put the plates down. He had a feeling that he might've known, but he wasn't sure, "About what?"

She pursed her lips as if she was trying to figure out the best way to proceed and then seemed to settle on her which route she would take, "I heard your conversation with Jefferson."

He froze and then continued getting the appliances out, "Everything?"

"Everything," Emma said and didn't bother to hide her anger, "Including a deal that you've been keeping from me."

"It's not nice to eavesdrop!" he scolded in the closest thing he would allow himself to get to his old Rumpelstiltskin voice.

He waited for her to start in on him about how he had broken his promise to be honest with her since she came back. He expected to hear all the old wrongs that he'd done to her and everyone but she was quiet. It occurred to him that she was waiting for him to defend himself.

"You were fifteen when we made that deal," he told her, "You and he had just stolen the hearts out of Regina's fault and you had to return them. You were young, emotional and you would've jumped on him the second he gave you any sort of bedroom eyes. The deal was to protect you."

"You went behind my back and gave my best friend the ability-."

"To see his daughter again," Rumpelstiltskin said, "To forget."

"To forget us."

"To forget the torment he's lived in for far longer than he deserved."

"You wouldn't do this out of the goodness of your heart," Emma said, "He may be loyal, but you wouldn't give him this if it didn't benefit you. What would you get out of all this? Me? You don't get to lose your daughter?"

"This wasn't meant to hurt or control you."

"I'll bet not," Emma muttered.

"It was meant to protect you. Frankly, I don't see what the big deal is Emma," he started, "You should be happy for your friend. As long as he doesn't get feelings for you…which he assured me he has none, then he'll see his daughter again and he won't remember the torment he's faced. Surely the sacrifice of never seeing him again would be a pittance."

Emma gave him a look that told him that he went too far.

"It's not the fact that you made the deal dad, it's that you didn't tell me about it and you're not doing it because he's my friend or you feel loyalty. You did it because you don't want to lose me in any possible scenario, especially one that could make me unhappy."

"Are you unhappy?" He demanded.

"No," she said and stared in his eyes, "But if you keep manipulating things and people in my life like this then I will be."

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It was a week before Emma was convinced David had healed enough to go outside for an extended period of time. She called Jefferson on the phone and told him to meet her in the stables so that David could see his surprise.

Jefferson was enthusiastic and Emma tried not to let her guard down. He had made the deal, he was intending to use her and then abandon her when he was done. He didn't care that it would've hurt her, he didn't care that she trusted him with her life since she was seven years old…he didn't care about any of it as long as it got him what he wanted.

David was excited when she told him there was a surprise for him. He asked her countless questions as she drove to the stables. She didn't like bringing David there with her but if he was there then it meant she wouldn't feel obligated to hurt Jefferson if he confirmed that he'd been using her all along.

She had spent the week angry at both her father and her friend. She barely talked to her dad other than the bare minimum of conversations and up until the day previous, refused to return any of Jefferson's calls.

Emma wasn't a fan of being used; it made her remember why she had run off in the first place.

Emma pulled David out of the seat just in time for Jefferson to drive up. He smiled at David and lifted him up, "Hey buddy, how you feeling?"

"Better!" David said and hugged his neck.

"Hey," he pulled the boy back a little bit, "I have a surprise for you."

"I know! Mama said so."

"But you can't look. If you do, then you don't get it."

David slapped his open palms against his eyes and buried his face in Jefferson's shoulder to confirm that he couldn't see anything.

"Hi," he greeted to Emma.

She averted her gaze and put her hands in her pockets, "Hey."

He smiled and squeezed her shoulder. Emma followed as he carried the boy into the stables and showed him a brown and white horse. Emma wondered who he belonged to until the curse hit. She knew the stallion Jefferson bought her was her biological father's.

"Look!" he said angled David to where David could see his new gift.

David's eyes practically popped out of his head, "Is she mine?"

"She's yours," Jefferson told him.

"Really?"

"It's what you get for being very brave," Jefferson told him, "And if we can talk your mother into saddling up her horse too…then maybe we can go riding."

Emma tensed as her son gave her the big soulful eyes that threatened to fill with tears at any second, "Pleeeasseeee mama?"

She might as well. She wanted to get him alone and without distractions to really talk to him, "I'll get the saddles."

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Emma's stallion had missed her. Emma could tell because he kept bumping her with his nose and searching her pockets for treats. Because of that, it took her longer to saddle her horse up. Jefferson sat with David on his horse and rode a few laps around the small corral. It wasn't a very big thing but David was completely enthralled.

The joy on her son's face almost made Emma not want to confront Jefferson. She was tempted to just turn the other way. But at the same time, she knew that he had to do this for him. If Jefferson was just using them then she wanted to know about it before David got close and viewed him as a friend and confidant and got hurt.

Finally, she saddled her horse and Jefferson unlocked the gate and they both rode to the back roads of the town that both Jefferson and Emma knew better than anyone.

"Can we go fast?" David asked.

"Not today," Emma said.

He pouted but refused to let this ruin his excitement.

They were out of hearing range of anyone when Emma took a breath, "I know about the deal."

And the happiness and excitement in Jefferson's face and eyes immediately crumbled, "He told you?"

"I heard it," she said and looked at him angrily, "All this time you've been using me. I thought we were friends-."

"We are friends."

"No, I'm a means to an end."

"If you were a means to an end then I would never have been so guilt ridden over the idea of hurting you that I would throw you over the border when you were sixteen to make sure you were safe!"

"The only reason you did it is because Regina isn't trustworthy and you didn't want to fall into her trap."

"You were fifteen Emma," He told her, "And I had just risked my life and that of my daughter's to help you protect a town against Regina. I wanted to make sure that we would be safe and protected under Rumpelstiltskin's care. I made the deal because we wouldn't have to deal with having duel memories and personalities. Emma, the torment that can cause…you don't know personally but you've seen it. You saw it with me and you saw it with Graham and…well I don't know how much of your father you've seen it with. It seems his memory was just practically there to get him here and tell him what he needed to know to function in this world. Emma, you are not the only one with loved ones on the line here. I did what I thought was best at the time to protect myself and my daughter and ease the torment that I suffered and she would one day suffer."

Emma felt herself getting angry even though her reasoning sounded entirely selfish, "You are the only person besides my father that I can rely on. And you went behind my back to make a deal with my father and you intended to use me until I got you what you wanted. You're my friend. My best friend. I can't do this without you in my corner."

"You have Rumpelstiltskin," he said, "That's enough."

"It's not!" she said, the very thought of losing him terrified her. Especially when the only person she would have left is the man that she just found out was still trying to control tings to make sure he kept the only person that stayed with him this long, "I can't tell my father everything. And when my mother wakes up she's not going to know everything either. Do you even really want to go back? There's nothing there for you. We don't even know if it's still there."

"It's home," he replied, "That's enough for me."

"And so using me, and running off when you're done…that's worth it for you."

"When I made that deal, my feelings for you were _very _different," he snapped, "I made the deal because I didn't think we'd get to the point where I'd ever want to take you with me."

Emma looked up and Jefferson seemed to realize what he said as well.

"That did not come out right," he said, "The deal is only in place if I want to leave and take my daughter home. If home exists. I-if it doesn't, we've seen Graham and how he was able to merge both personalities then perhaps Grace could-."

"Jefferson," Emma whispered and drew in a sharp breath, "What's different about the feelings you have then as compared to the feelings you have now?"

Even David was staring up at him, but Emma wasn't sure how much of it he was absorbing. Knowing him though, it would be everything. He was a lot smarter than adults usually gave him credit for.

Jefferson looked around as if he could escape this conversation and he searched for what he should say.

"It doesn't matter," He replied and urged the horse forward, "You're twenty-two and that's still far too young."

Emma felt like she'd been punched in the gut. Jefferson had more or less confirmed it and now that it was out in the open, they were plunged into an awkward silence.

"How long?" she asked.

"Maybe a year or two after you came back," he replied.

"And you never said anything," she asked, getting angry.

"You chose Graham," he told her simply, "Graham was a far better man than I could hope to be. You were happy with him. Why should I ruin that?"

Maybe if he had confessed to those feelings then she might not ever have restored his heart to him for starters.

"And the flowers?" she asked, "And how you treat me and David?"

"All innocent," He promised, "None of it was romantic gestures in hopes of getting a family again."

Emma felt stunned…and then a little sick that the man that had thrown her over the barrier with no idea what would happen and just admitted he wanted to use his friendship with her at fifteen was now confessing he might have feelings, "You saw me grow up."

"So did Graham," Jefferson reminded her, "So did everybody."

Emma looked down at the saddle. A few moments of stunned silence passed, "And you have feelings for me."

"You're still too young," he told her simply, "For me to feel comfortable romancing you. And I'm not eager to see the heavy handle of your father's cane aimed at my face right after I promised him that my interest was innocent."

She understood that. And while it was tempting for her as well, she had her own reservations. Neal's betrayal still stung and Graham's death felt like an ache in her chest and stomach that never went away.

And Jefferson wasn't really doing that well for himself right now either. He had helped her plenty of times, but she had to be sure that he just didn't want a distraction or someone to ease the loneliness…especially now with David in the mix.

She had to make sure she didn't want to be with him for the same reasons. IT was quite lonely being the savior of a cursed town. And Emma had made a mistake in who she trusted romantically before. She needed to make sure her feelings for him weren't remnants of her old childhood crush

"Well...now that that's all out of the way...what do we do?" she asked quietly

"Like we always do, I suppose," he said and rested his hand on David's head, "Now we're just all on the same page."

Emma looked at him, "Is there anything else I should know? Any more deals or lies that you haven't told me?"

"No," he told her, "You now know everything."

She did. And in some ways she wished she didn't.

Because now that it was all out in the open like this, things were going to be incredibly awkward and her father was going to catch on eventually.

This day didn't go the way she was thinking it would.

Glass half full though…at least she wasn't in the position to where she was going to have to shun him and facing heartbreak for him using her.


	71. Chapter 71

While David played with Legos on Emma's bedroom floor, Emma sat at her vanity and stared at her reflection as she went over the events of that horseback ride.

Jefferson had …feelings for her. Feelings that he wanted to act on but didn't for several reasons. The top of those being her age, Graham, and this cursed deal that her father got him to make.

Emma put her head in her hands and tried to sort everything out. It was an understatement if she recognized that of all the ways that ride could've gone…from forgiving him to shunning him…declaring 'feelings' for her wasn't how she had planned for it to go.

What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't just ignore this. Did she encourage or reject his advances? Her father darkly joked that she had loved him ever since she was a baby and Emma honestly couldn't remember a time in her childhood when she DIDN"T have a thing for him after she had officially met him. Did the clenching and racing heart as she thought about his words have to do with that? A childhood crush? Or were there deeper more adult feelings?

She tried to compare them to her feelings with Graham but that was impossible. There was a different sort of trust between her and Jefferson. She'd known him since she was seven. He'd been her best friend growing up and her confidant as an adult.

The fact that she knew him as a child should dissuade this. Biologically he was a 29 year old man but…ethically he was much older.

But Emma was an adult and he got these feelings when she had returned. So it wasn't really _morally _wrong…but she could see how some people might not see it that way when they woke up.

Namely her parents.

Oh gods, if her mother had a fit at the idea of Graham dating her at 30 and she was 19 then how exactly were they going to support this when they woke up and found the age difference to be drastic?

It wasn't their business though…and if they had issue then they shouldn't. They should be grateful that he protected her and helped her no matter how stupid her plans sometimes were.

And besides, who else where was there for her as completely and emotionally as Jefferson was? Did she just wait till she was 28 and the curse broke and everyone reunited and she looked over those without true loves to see if any of them appealed to her? Did she go out in the real world and try to find someone and hope they didn't think she was crazy?

No, she was done with that world. Her life was here.

She looked to her son, those Legos were stacking up, "David, are you building a tower?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Can mommy help?"

"Okay," he held an orange block to her and she crawled on the floor to help him.

And what about David? She knew that Jefferson adored the boy and showered him with gifts whenever he could. David adored him too…but then again…David adored everyone that Emma let him come in contact with. It was just in his nature.

Could he be a father for David? He might be… Could he settle for her and David while he waited for his daughter to wake up? Would they be enough for him? Emma didn't think so and she had no right to expect it of course. That was his daughter down there. But she did want him to be somewhat satisfied with the family he would get.

What if he didn't love her? What if he thought he did because he was desperate for a way to ease the loneliness? Emma could not keep him company all the time. He spent many hours up there alone. What if subconsciously, this was his way of trying to get some company?

And what if she didn't love him? What if it was just her trying to prove to herself that she didn't have to be bitter and alone at the age of 22 because of Neal's betrayal and Graham's loss? What if these feelings of excitement building in her stomach were just her attempts to move on?

Oh, she really should be discussing this all with Jefferson and not mentally to her reflection and the Lego tower that David was no doubt determined to make reach the ceiling.

Could they really do this? Could they be together like that? Could she overcome her own fears and doubts about loving again and could he overcome his madness to love her?

But to face him again after that awkward talk? Emma wasn't sure if she should do that yet. At least not today.

There was a knock at her door and Emma looked up when it opened.

"Emma," her father greeted.

"Hi pawpaw!" David greeted and waved his little Lego person like it was a flag.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled warmly at the boy, "Hello David. Emma, I was wondering if perhaps you might want some hot chocolate. I'm warming some up if you'd like to-….what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Emma said dismissively.

"Emma, you look angry and nauseated, don't lie to me."

Emma fought to roll her eyes at his authoritative paternal tone. Yeah, as if he should talk about lies.

Her denial got his curiosity and when he was curious, he badgered her until he was certain he knew everything. Emma hated this protective mode of him sometimes, but other times she could understand where he was coming from. She'd gone through a lot in the 22 years of her life and he was just worried about keeping her safe.

"Dad, you might want to sit down," she kissed the top of David's head and moved to sit on the vanity chair.

Her father looked…reluctant and sat on the edge of her bed. He gripped the cane and stared at it for several seconds and then looked at her.

Emma rubbed her hands together and searched for the courage for what she was about to say next, "I confronted Jefferson about the deal. He told me everything. And he- he told me that things were different now than they were seven years ago. He told me that he had feelings."

Emma watched her father's entire stance tense, "What feelings?"

Emma swallowed and looked at the hands folded in her lap, "Like the girlfriend boyfriend kind."

Rumpelstiltskin scoffed and ran a hand through his hair, "Emma-."

"We agreed that now wasn't the best time," she said quickly, "He still thinks I'm too young but…there are feelings there."

Her father was quiet and she could tell that he was fuming. When he looked up, his eyes held that same fear that it always did when he was scared of losing her, "Will you act on those feelings?"

"I don't know yet," she told him honestly, "Not yet though."

"I see," he said and she could tell from his voice that he was ready to snap."

"Dad," she said and clenched her shaking hands, "I expect you to be honest with me so this is me being honest with you. Please don't…hurt him or do something to prevent him from being with Grace or something."

"I won't hurt them," he promised.

"Dad, you know about true love better than anyone," Emma bit the inside of her cheek, "Do you think that…do you think that he loves me?"

"Yes," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"Do you think that I love him?"

"I think it could be a possibility," he said thoughtfully, "I think that you both have your own issues to get through and your ability to trust and love again will be yours."

Emma made note to get some therapy soon for help on that, "Would you back me up on this?"

He didn't answer her and that was all she needed to know.

"Emma, you must understand that I have spent centuries alone. My father abandoned me, Milah abandoned me, I lose Bae…and you know about Regina's mother and Belle. You are the only person that has accepted who I am and to stay with me as long as you have. Ever. And to lose you to someone with a past like Jefferson's and the things he's done? Men like us don't change, Emma. I want what's best for you and what's best for you isn't him. IT may be selfish of me and I'll make no excuses for that. I've never made excuses for it. But I can't support this Emma. I think you can do better."

"Well you provide a list and I might listen to you," Emma told him, "But you can't deny the things he's done for me when he never had to."

"So its obligation, is that it?"

"No," Emma said quickly, "Of course not!"

"You deserve better," Rumpelstiltskin said and stood, "And that's all I'll offer on the subject."

"Dad," Emma started as he walked out the door.

But he didn't listen to her.

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"He hasn't learned anything," Emma told Jefferson as they sat on his porch. She may have vowed not to go to him later that day but here she was anyway, "He wants me to be happy as long as it goes with his plans and his wants."

"He's acting like every father would," Jefferson told her. She could detect some of the disappointment in her voice, "And probably any father of a savior."

"It's selfish is what it is!" Emma protested, "I understand how terrified he is of being alone. I know. I remember that the last time he was alone; he had no idea where I was. And the time he was alone before that, his true love had died. I get it. I do. But I can't stay at home with him for the rest of my life just so he won't be lonely. Eventually I have to have my own life too."

"I imagine he wants your own personal prince charming to come in and be a good husband for you one day."

"Well those are in short supply right about now, aren't they?" Emma said sarcastically, "He won't lose me. I wish he could get that through his thick Dark One head. But if he doesn't let me pursue my own life then he might."

"Emma, if a man with my past came and wanted to date my daughter then I would rather kill the man than let that happen. I can understand how he is reluctant. Especially over something that's not definite yet."

Emma brushed her hair out of the way, "I want to make sure…that these feelings are real. I want to make sure it's not remnants of my childhood crush and that you love me for me. Not because I might distract you from your loneliness."

"I wouldn't do that."

"Not intentionally," Emma said and looked at her son as he rode his small bike around the driveway, "I also need to make sure you'll be a good father to him."

"I'm not sure how much more I can prove that but I'm willing to be one for him," he told her, "But I wasn't joking before when I said that you were still too young."

"And how old do I have to be?" Emma asked, "Before we discuss this again?"

He thought it over, "23's a good age. Nice prime number there…"

A part of Emma felt insulted that he didn't like her as she was now but she could understand his reluctance. This way it gave them both time. It gave her a year to get over her own trust issues and (God willing) convinced her father to warm up to the idea.

And it gave him time to…do whatever it was that he did up here.

But for now…things would be the same. And as Emma drew closer to her 28th birthday and the unknown situations that would bring, she almost came to appreciate the normalcy that this little life had given her.

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**One Year Later **

Emma stood at the counter and turned the salmon patties over.

She looked over her shoulder and watcher her son reading from the child's book that they'd gotten from him from the library. (It paid to have the landlord for a father).

David pointed at each word and read them…Emma had been proud of him reading all his books until she realized that he'd more or less memorized the ones he had. So they'd borrowed plenty of new ones for him learn to read.

"I went to the….Iz-land," David furrowed his eyebrows and stared and the word in front of him.

Next to him, Rumpelstiltskin lowered his own newspaper and pulled the book closer to him so that he could see. David was going to school in August and now that it was December, they were making user he was caught up and exceeding where a child his age should be.

"That word is 'Island'," Rumpelstiltskin told him, "The 's' is silent."

David looked at him, "How come?"

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged and drank his coffee, "I don't make those rules, David."

Emma smiled and took a sip of her own coffee while she waited for the meat to cook

Her work phone buzzed and she flipped it open to see what the problem was.

When she read the words, she paled.

Rumpelstiltskin sensed her unease, "What is it?"

Emma turned to him, "Grace is missing."


	72. Chapter 72

Emma gripped the wheel as tightly as she could on the drive up to Jefferson's house. Her heart slammed in her chest and she couldn't stop her hands from shaking.

It was the yearly scavenger hunt. All the children in third grade and beyond were given a list every year to find plants in the woods after school to help them connect to nature. It was supposed to be a family bonding activity but most children did it with friends. Grace and Emma did it that year that they were in the same class together.

But Grace had not come home and her family was frantic. Emma was getting calls every ten minutes by her frantic adopted parents. They were gathering a search party, Emma was supposed to be along shortly but she had something she needed to do first.

Emma wanted to believe it was a coincidence but she knew that it most likely wasn't. And she was dreading what she was about to do because she knew that it wasn't going to end well no matter how things turned out.

Emma was struggling not to panic as she climbed the stairs. She hoped that maybe there was a good explanation….maybe Grace was safe and had just gotten lost in the woods.

Emma rang the doorbell and paced back and forth until the door opened. Jefferson looked confused and then smiled radiantly when he saw her, "You're knocking? You haven't done that since you were twelve."

"Jefferson," she felt her legs shaking and she shoved her hands in her pockets. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton and she felt her voice crack. She didn't know how he would take the news. No, that was a lie, she knew exactly how he would take the news, she just didn't want to give it. She couldn't imagine how she would take it if someone told her son was missing. And now she had to tell Jefferson…she had to tell him that his only link to the real world…the only thing that kept him going was missing, "Jefferson."

"Emma," he teased, "Quite the chaos going on down there. I'm seeing people going into the woods, what's going on?"

"Jefferson…tell me you've seen Grace."

"No…she went to the woods this morning and I didn't see her after that. I thought she went the route that you showed her years ago to get those silly little plants your school insists that she finds," He looked at her warily and dread slowly crept in his face, "Emma, why are you asking?"

"She's not here then?" Emma asked.

"No," he said, "Why would she be here?"

Emma hated herself for that silent accusation and his hurt look. There were times in their friendship that Emma was terrified that the loneliness might be too much and he would try to take his daughter back without her memories.

"Emma," he whispered, "Are people going in the woods…f-for Grace?"

Emma drew in her breath, "We can't find her. They're getting a search party ready"

He looked furiously at her, "And you came here to accuse me?"

"Jefferson-," Emma whispered, "I needed to be su-."

"We're wasting time," he told her and went to put on his coat, "Grace is out there somewhere."

Emma drew in a sharp breath and could hardly look at him due to her own shame at the accusation, "Jefferson…Grace never deviated from that path once I introduced her to it. And if it wasn't you that took her-."

His gaze darkened and for the first time since he'd shoved her over the border…Emma was scared of him, "Regina."

"We don't know yet," Emma said before he could let her theories become facts in his mind, "Let's just find her first."

Emma started to walk away but Jefferson grabbed her arm, "If Regina has anything to do with this…I'll kill her myself and this whole drawn out curse business will be over and I'll have done the world a favor."

"I'm not 28 yet," Emma told him quietly, "So either the curse would break prematurely which is unlikely or you'll fail and Regina will make arrangements to get you sent over the border. And what good will you be for Grace once that happens? "

She pulled out of his grip and walked down the stairs

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Emma felt her blood freeze in her veins as she stared at Regina's sneering expression. She wanted to kill her. Even if she wasn't responsible for what happened to Grace, she still had enough on her record for most to allow her crimes as justification for her death.

"Your stories are quite entertaining Mr. March and Sheriff Swan, but unless you have any evidence to back it up…there's a child that's missing. As if I would hurt an innocent victim to pay for both of your crimes."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Emma muttered and thought of all those people…everyone that had suffered because of an innocent child's mistake, "You haven't reared your head in a while…which usually means you're just biding your time. And you weren't near subtle enough when assigning everyone's roles here for it to be anyone else.. IF life differs from its mundane roll, then it's usually five people that cause it. And three of those people are in here."

"I'm not sure your son counts, Sheriff," Regina sneered again, "Now if you don't mind…I have a search party in the woods to help assist before it gets dark, "You know…where you should currently be."

"If you had anything to do with this," Jefferson hissed. '

"What? You'll kill me?" Regina mocked, "You would've done that a long time ago if that were the case."

Emma felt her anger burn inside her. Regina wasn't even denying it. She was just asking what they planned to do about it.

Jefferson lunged before Emma could stop him. He grabbed Regina and shoved her on the desk. Emma grabbed his arm but he shook her off, grabbed a statue and raised it over his head, "Where is she?"

Regina looked terrified and looked to Emma for help.

Emma felt herself step back and she calmly watched the scene take place. Why should she stop him? What, should she spare Regina's life just so Regina could live another day and try to kill them? Just like she had against Snow and Charming? Why should she stop a terrified father from finding his daughter?

When Regina realized Emma wasn't going to help, she looked at Jefferson in terror, "She's under the library."

Emma felt the blood drain from her face and she looked at Jefferson, "Jefferson, we have to go get her."

"In a minute," Jefferson gave her such a hateful look that it almost didn't look like Jefferson anymore.

"Not 'in a minute', we have to go now," Emma said, "Maleficent down there."

Jefferson lowered the statue for a second and then he raised it again and brought it down. the statue busted beside Regina's face and he climbed off her.

Emma would probably hate herself later for letting it escalate that quickly. But then she remembered that Regina tried to use Grace as a reward for Jefferson poisoning her and her father before she had left.

And Emma hoped that regret for just standing by would happen a lot later.

"If Maleficent down there, and she's awake then Regina might just be trying to lead me to my death," Emma told Jefferson as they raced outside, "It could be, she's not down there."

Jefferson didn't even look like he was listening to her, "It's Grace."

"I know, and I'm going down there without question" Emma told him, "But if I go down there, I might not come back out."

He seemed to understand her hesitation, "You're to break the curse when you're 28. There's no doubt about it, it was prophesized. That means that you're going to live until you're 28? And that means that whatever fight you'll have with this thing, you'll win."

"We don't know that for sure," Emma told him, "Not even my father is sure that we can break this curse early when he designed it."

Doubt clouded Jefferson's mind and he swallowed as he realized he was putting his daughter over her and he gave her a pleading begging look, "It's Grace."

"I know," she said again, "And we're going, but there's something I have to get first."

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"No, absolutely not, you're not going down there!" Her father practically screamed as she raced upstairs to get her father's sword.

"I'm going to have to do it anyway," Emma said, "You made sure of that. What better time to do it before I'm 28 and I have a fighting chance?"

"I forbid it!" He grabbed her arm and she ripped it out of his grasp, "Emma, you're going down to face a dragon based on information that _Regina _told you. Surely you have to know it's a trap."

"I can't afford to sit here and wait for them to search the woods for Grace if she's not there!" Emma said, "This is a child that's in danger. A child. Because of Regina. I can't afford to waste time."

"Emma," her father said and she could hear the terror and grief in his voice, "Please think about this. Think about David! Think about your son. Think about me. Think about your parents and this town… If you go down there and you don't come back out where does that leave us?"

"Free," Emma pulled out the case from under her bed and unlocked it. Her father's sword was…beautiful and she could hardly look at it without being in awe. But now wasn't the time for that. She slipped it in its scabbard and stood, "You'll have your curse broken and you can all resume your lives."

"Stop pretending that you're only worth that!" he screamed and grabbed her shoulders, "Please. Emma. You're not ready."

"What else can I do?" Emma demanded.

"You'll die!" he sobbed, "That thing down there will kill you!"

"We don't know that."

"I don't want to risk it!" He screamed again, "Not now. You're only 23 years old!"

Emma drew a breath. She couldn't let what she was about to do sink in. If she did, then she would become as scared as he was and she'd make a mistake. She had to get down there, a child was in danger if she wasn't already dead. Her father had said once that Maleficent wasn't up to full strength yet and so this was as good a time as any. Besides, she'd been training for this her whole life. If now wasn't a good time then what would be a good time.

Emma saw the terror in his eyes and that was all she needed to know about this mission. She felt her own eyes filling with tears as she let some of the fear that she was fighting so hard to keep out leak in. Emma embraced her father as tightly as she could and he clung to her equally as tightly, "Don't leave us Emma, please. Don't do this…you have to think."

"Grace is in danger," Emma reminded him, "What if it was David?"

"Mama?" David crept in and his eyes widened when he saw the sword.

Emma almost backed down when she saw her son. She nearly fell at his feet and held him and promised that she wouldn't leave him.

But she knew that was selfish. She was a savior. Her life was in danger daily. This was the best strategic time to strike while Maleficent wasn't at full strength.

If David was down there, then Emma would charge Hell with a water pistol to save him. Grace deserved the same treatment.

Emma held her son against her chest and covered his face with kisses, "David, no matter what happens, always remember that I love you so much, okay?"

"Okay," He whispered and kissed her back, "I love you too, mama."

The tears came then. What Emma was about to do really sank in. She sobbed and held him in her arms. She was going on an insanely stupid and reckless quest to fight something she'd never even seen before in closed quarters just because a liar told her a child was down there. She knew how insane it was. she knew how stupid it was.

But it was Grace. IT was an eleven year old child. Emma couldn't afford to let the child get hurt because she was too stubborn to believe Regina. Maybe that was what Regina wanted. She wanted Emma to think that she was lying and not go down there and Grace would be killed and Emma would blame herself.

Emma pulled back, she had to get going, "You be good for grandpa, okay?"

"Okay," he told her.

"Always do what he says."

"Okay," he said again.

She closed her eyes so that she didn't have to look at him, "I love you, David. So much."

"I'm going with you," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"No," Emma refused. She didn't even want to comprehend what a terrified Rumpelstiltskin and frantic Jefferson would be like in the same car together, "Someone has to watch David. I don't want him near the same building with a fire breathing dragon."

"Mary Margaret can."

"She's with the search party," Emma reminded him gently, "Dad, please."

"Emma, that thing will kill you. Even at half strength."

Emma was very aware because he had told her this several times. Without a word, Emma stood and embraced her father, "I love you, daddy. So much."

He held her again, "I love you, Emma. Please reconsider this."

"I've wasted enough time already," she whispered and wiped her tears away, "IF I don't make it…"

"I'll take care of your mother," He promised, "I'll tell your father stories about you."

It was a very solemn promise and Emma had to turn away to keep from breaking down. She put one shaking foot in front of the other and practically ran out of the house with her sword in hand to the car where Jefferson was waiting.

"What in the name of the gods took so long?" he demanded.

"You be the child of a dark one and tell him you're going to face a dragon," Emma muttered and pulled her seatbelt on, "Let's go."

Jefferson slammed his foot onto the gas and peeled out onto the street.

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The door was unlocked and the elevator was down in the caves when they arrived. Jefferson quickly summoned it but it would take a few seconds for the creaky thing to make its way up there.

"I'm going with you," he told her.

"Someone needs to manage the elevator," she whispered and looked at him. He was refusing to look at her. She knew that he was feeling guilt for what he was begging her to do, "Jefferson- my mom doesn't know I'm doing this. I didn't get to tell her goodbye."

He flinched as if he'd been slapped.

"Would you tell her how much I Loved her?"

"Yes," he whispered and she heard his voice break, "Emma-."

"Don't," she said and looked at the elevator, "Don't feel guilt about this. This is your daughter's life. You're not asking me to do something I wouldn't do anyway."

A tear slipped down his face, "I love you."

Whatever strength she had left felt like it was ripped away from her as he said that and when he gave her a glance, it was different than the looks he normally gave her, "Don't joke about things like that."

"I'm not," he whispered, "What you're doing for Grace-."

"It's what a savior would do," she whispered.

"I don't care," he said, "There aren't words to describe how much I value you and everything you've done and are willing to do. My job never allowed me to meet many brave people but you're one of the bravest people I ever met. I think you should know that. What you've had to put up with everyday…no one should do that. Especially at the ages you had to endure it."

Emma looked at him and felt her stomach clench at that look…that intense gaze he was holding. All the missed opportunities…all the times they put it off because it wasn't the right time and they were both too insecure with themselves to take that step forward…it wasn't worth it.

Emma took a breath, the elevator was almost here but she knew that she had to say something. She might never see him again and there was so much she wanted to say.

Maybe it was the year of therapy that gave her the bravery to say the next words. Or maybe she had it in her all along and Archie had just helped her find a way to channel it, "I love you, too."

Jefferson released a breath of air and grabbed her hand. She rushed at him and their lips collided as they both released some of the pent up emotions that both had been harboring for a very long time. It was a clumsy kiss…Emma was certain that her lip was bleeding but she didn't care. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to keep up with the affections that he was pouring out to her. Maybe it wasn't love. Maybe it was just two lost broken people trying to connect but it was still one of the closest feelings to the real thing that Emma ever had.

She only pulled away when the elevator arrived and she rushed to get on it, "I could never have done this without you…any of it."

"You would've been fine," he whispered and the way he looked at her…if Emma needed yet another reason to come back then this would certainly be it.

"I love you," Emma told him again as the door closed.

She pulled the gate to the elevator closed and stared at his face watching her through the elevator until she couldn't see it anymore.

And now that she was alone, let loose the tears that she'd been trying to hold back.

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The air was thick and humid and heavy when Emma stepped out of the elevator and onto the dirt and rock floor that was Maleficent cage.

The sword, her father's legacy, felt extremely heavy in her hands. Odd, she had handled it over a hundred times when she was training…she didn't recall it weighing this much.

Emma lit a flashlight and crept out through the tunnel that she knew would lead towards the dragon's lair.

Idiotic Regina. What made her think bringing a pissed off dragon to live under the town she wanted to rule was in any way a good idea?

Oh wait, it was Regina. Emotions and stupid petty vendettas ruled over logic and common sense.

If she hadn't been in such a hurry, she wished she'd recorded that conversation in the sheriff's office. But she'd been in too much of a hurry to find Grace's location that she didn't even think about it.

That would've been some great evidence against Regina…if they could prove she didn't just make the claim out of duress.

"Grace?" Emma called and looked around for any signs that someone had been down here. These tunnels covered the entire town…it would be impossible to cover them all in just an hour.

She followed the tunnel until it let out into a large cavern. Emma looked around at the huge cavern and suddenly felt very open and very exposed.

Her eyes strayed down to a rock jutting out of the ground and she moved towards it…it wasn't a rock formation, it was her mother's coffin.

God, that was disturbing. She felt like she was going to be sick.

She lowered her flashlight and then something to her left caught her eye.

A foot.

Emma nearly dropped the flashlight and tripped over her own feet as she ran around the coffin and flashed the light on the face of whoever that leg belonged to.

Grace.

Emma sobbed in relief and knelt beside the girl, "Grace?"

Grace didn't even comprehend her. She just stared ahead. Blank. Unseeing.

Emma lifted the girl's hands, "Grace?"

The girl didn't even acknowledge her or move…she just gave an unblinking stare to the rock formation ahead of her.

Emma grabbed the child's arms and began to lift her up, "It's oaky, you're safe now."

She could get out of here, she didn't have to fight Maleficent today…she'd been right to believe Regina and Grace as alive. The weight on Emma's shoulders was falling and she felt like she could endure anything now. The worse possible scenerios were false. Things were going to be alright.

Something growled behind her and moved. Something large.

Emma felt her mouth go dry and she looked warily behind her and jumped at the green eye staring back.

She would never make it to the elevator.

Emma half carried half dragged Grace to a cavern tunnel as Maleficent raised her head and breathed fire at the cavern ceiling. Emma lifted her sword from the ground and took one of the fighting poses Jefferson had spent years pushing her to perfect.

The dragon lunged down at her, Emma dodged the attack and race down a different tunnel than the one that Grace was curled up at. She had to get this witch away from the child

The tunnel that Emma chose to run down led to a chamber with a deep pit and no way across it.

The dragon was tearing after her. Emma would get knocked down into the pit if she just stayed rooted there. With a small breath, Emma charged the dragon when Maleficent started to breathe fire, Emma slid under her and brought the sword into Maleficent underbelly. The momentum carried Maleficent forward as the sword cut into Maleficent scales…how deeply Emma wasn't sure. It was just a struggle to hold onto the handle of the weapon as it was nearly torn from her grasp.

The dragon surged forward and fell into the pit. Emma forced herself up and raced to the cavern where Grace was currently pressed up against, "Grace, we have to go, we have to go now!"

She lifted the catatonic girl and took off towards the elevators. She heard Maleficent roar not too far behind her and used the newfound adrenaline to get to the elevator, "TAKE US UP! TAKE US UP NOW!"

The elevator started to move as Maleficent charged towards the entrance. Emma could see the blood from there but it didn't seem like the dragon even noticed.

Emma dumped Grace in the corner and picked up her sword again as the elevator slowly lifted up. If she didn't take care of this now, then Maleficent might send a fireball up into the shaft and burn them alive.

Emma thought quickly and moved out of the way as Maleficent tried to shove her head into the elevator to get at them. The rising elevator stopped; Maleficent's neck was keeping it from ascending. IT was too weak to decapitate Maleficent but it did trap her temporarily.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?" Emma mocked and brought the sword down against Maleficent's neck. It came clean in two strokes.

The head fell to the ground and the elevator started moving again. Emma dropped the sword and moved back over to where Grace was sitting and pulled her into an embrace. She watched as Maleficent's head crumble into ashes and a gold egg was all that was left.

Magic.

Emma held Grace as the elevator picked up speed. It felt like an eternity before it finally slowed down to a stop.

Jefferson ripped open the doors and Emma saw that her father wasn't far behind him.

Jefferson's eyes fell on both of them and he smiled widely, "You did it!"

Emma felt her chest constrict when she realized she was about to break his heart, "Jefferson, she-."

"Thank you so much! Grace," he knelt beside her, when she didn't look away from the wall, his smile fell and he looked a bit frantic, "Grace?"

"Jefferson, I found her like this."

"No," he tried to get her to look at him but she just seemed to look right past him in a catatonic state "Grace, wake up!"

He started sobbing and he wrapped his arms around his daughter and lifted her out of the elevator. Emma watched as he carried her into the library and knelt down. He started sobbing and saying her name over and over. He cradled her in his arms and rocked back and forth.

Rumpelstiltskin was at her side after a few seconds, "Are you alright?"

Emma didn't take her eyes off the two in front of her, "I'm fine. Where's David?"

He lifted some of her hair and she could see that a lot of it had burned off. Her back was incredibly warm too…and now it felt exposed to air for some reason, "Don't ever do something stupid like that again!"

"Where's David?" Emma demanded again.

"He's with Widow Lucas," Rumpelstiltskin looked at her and then at the egg, "Emma-."

"don't you dare think about bringing magic back," Emma hissed through her teeth, "Don't you dare give HER anything else she can use."

He looked like he wanted to argue but relented at the last moment. Now wasn't the time. "I'll get an ambulance."

Emma moved to sit next to Jefferson as he sobbed with his daughter in his arms. Emma put her hands on his arms. He didn't seem to feel her. Maybe he did, Emma didn't know.

She let the adrenaline crash and she started crying with him. When the paramedics came in, they found her sobbing next to him with her face resting on his shoulder.

**A/N Okay, so this chapter...took me forever to write. And it was also the second hardest one to write after the fallout from Graham's death. **


	73. Chapter 73

As soon as the adrenaline was drained from her body, Emma was very sore and in pain. Her hair had been burned practically up to her shoulders and there were clumps that were missing. Her back was completely scratched up and she had 2nd degree burns on her back and neck. IT didn't take long for her skin to feel stiff and stretched as she sat in the hospital room. She was bandaged up and waiting for the pain medication that she was most definitely going to need by the end of the day.

Someone knocked at the door, "Come in."

Her father slipped into the room, "Hey."

Emma sat up slightly. The skin pulled and she felt tears spring to her eyes, "Hi."

He closed the door behind him, "They're still checking over Grace."

"She hasn't come out of it?"

His grim silence was her answer.

Emma felt tears fill her eyes. She closed them quickly and ran her palms over her eyes, "Will she?"

He was quiet again, "I don't know. In fact, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Okay," Emma whispered. God, she was praying that he was telling her that he could restore Grace.

He sat on the bed next to her, " You know that I barely have any magic left. We talked about it after I gave Graham back his heart. But I do have enough magic in me to…sense…things. I can look at the cursed people here, and it's hard to explain, but I can see their true selves buried in their cursed selves."

Emma gave him a confused look.

"I suppose the best way to explain it is like somehow seeing a pregnant woman and somehow being able to see the baby growing in her belly. Imagine that the growing baby is the actual person and the pregnant mother symbolizes the cursed persona. The child is nurtured by the mother and protected by her body until such a time where it can be removed or…birthed. But until that time, they're both linked and what one days will almost always affect the other."

"This is a weird comparison," Emma muttered.

"My point being…that I can see that sort of bond…in everyone here. I can see how one part of their personality affects the other personality that their body shares and I can sort of…'see' how close that memory will be to its delivery date…or better explained…when they get their memories back. I used to see that in Paige and Grace but…I can't see it anymore."

"What?" Emma straightened, "She could just…be in shock, right?"

He gave her a guilty look that told her that he knew a lot more than what he was telling her.

"Dad?" she felt her heard start to race, "She's going to wake up from this right?"

"Emma, when I first woke up here…and I was waiting for you to be delivered to me…I decided to pass the time by testing the boundaries of this world. So, I took one of the nuns, that no one would miss and I led her out to the woods and I pushed her over the border to see what would happen."

Emma felt the blood drain from her face and she felt dizzy. There was no shame on his face. No regret. He'd done what he did and he moved on. Much like he always did with the people whose lives he ruined, "Dad…what happened to her?"

"She went catatonic. And I couldn't see her cursed personality anymore. Needless to say, crossing the border would be a very foolish notion and I never went that close to the border again. Emma, Grace isn't in shock from seeing that dragon. She was already like that. There's only one thing that could have turned Grace into like she is now."

"Regina pushed her over the border," Emma whispered.

There was a movement at the door. Emma's head jerked up and she saw Jefferson leaving.

"Oh God," Emma stood and practically raced down the hallway, "Jefferson…Jefferson, you have to talk to me."

"I'm going to kill her," He hissed.

"You try that and you might fail," Emma said, "The curse is going to keep the creator and caster and savior alive until such a time that it can be broken."

"We don't know that for sure," he reminded her, "It's still a theory that someone's death could break it early. We're going to find out."

Emma was very tempted to allow him to try, but years of her father teaching her logic finally paid off and she realized how his actions could affect them negatively in the long run, "Jefferson, if you fail then Regina will have you arrested and have you escorted past the border. And that's if she doesn't kill you. And if she survives and puts you out of the picture then she'll remove me as sheriff and have the state take David from me and she'll get all her power and she'll win."

"She _has _won."

Emma looked to her right as her father came up to their heated whispers, "Could you heal Grace?"

"Not without magic," he said and shot her a pointed look.

Emma tensed. The egg was in the trunk of the Caddy right now. Emma hoped that he wasn't trying to use what happened to Grace in an attempt to convince her to let him use it. As much as Emma would love for him to use magic to restore Grace, she also knew the price of that would be astronomical. Her father was an addict for magic and Regina was just as bad if not worse. And with everyone having false memories, Emma was worried that there would be no one powerful enough to stop them.

Her father had told her several times that she was powerful, but she didn't even know what she was supposed to do with that. With how Regina and Cora turned out, Emma wasn't exactly open to the idea of her father teaching her how to work magic either.

And only God knew the kind of things the people in this town would be exposed to trapped inside this snow globe with two addicted power-hungry beings that hated each other.

Jefferson and her father also told her constantly that one day, she would have to make hard decisions. Decisions that were not black and white. Emma hated herself for this choice. She wasn't sure how she was going to look in the mirror for this decision, much less Jefferson's face but Grace had to stay where she was now. It could be that she was a lot safer like this.

Great, now she was justifying it.

Emma felt like she was going to be sick. Magic could heal her but the price of bringing that magic was just too high and risked too many other lives that Emma had come to care about.

She didn't even dignify her father's look with a look of her own, "Is it possible that her memories could be restored when the curse breaks?"

"It could be. I'm not sure," he said, "But with magic it would be a guarantee.

Emma fought to not roll her eyes, "Well, I suppose it's unfortunate that you don't have it."

Emma needed to find a way to get rid of that magic until such a time where the town could protect itself.

"So, that's it?" Jefferson demanded, "She wins? She hurt my daughter and we just let her walk free?"

"She won't win," Emma tried to say.

"no," he shook his head, "You can make all your promises and all your assurances but my daughter is lying in a hospital bed and you're telling me that you won't do anything to avenge that for five years."

"Jefferson," Emma started.

"No," his eyes filled with tears, "Don't justify it. When it was David, your father was ready to kill your only leverage against Regina to hurt her but for Grace you won't do anything?"

He was lashing out in his grief, and Emma was aware of that so she pushed any feelings of hurt and anger down, "If you remember, I stopped my father from killing Graham to hurt her."

"And now she won't think there are consequences for her actions," Tears slipped down his face, "You made a mistake that cost my daughter. Just like your parents did when they didn't execute her and just like Rumpelstiltskin did when he used a favor I owed him to corrupt Regina. She keeps getting away with all this and we just sit by and do nothing and I'm sick of it. We can hide her hearts, and we can seal her tomb and bury her dead boyfriend but we still keep losing. Why? Because we have a set of rules that you make us play by."

He was sobbing now and Emma stood there and let him get his anger out. It made her just as sick as it made him that they would have to wait until the curse was broken to see that proper justice was done for Regina. It was more fitting if everyone remembered who they were but it was still such a long way away.

"And it's easy for you, isn't it?" he demanded, "You get a dad who loves you and would do anything to keep you safe. You get someone that can protect you from Regina. And because of that, you and your son don't have to worry as much. I risked my life to help you and what have I gotten for it? My daughter is gone! Her mind might not be restored and I'm alone on that hill and you get to go home to your father and son and continue like nothing happened while I have to watch them do…whatever they're going to do to my daughter. How is any of that fair?"

"It's not," Emma said, "But you and I both know that my life isn't as simple as that."

"I don't care anymore," he said, "For years Grace was the only thing I had. She was the only thing I had to live for. She was innocent and Regina hurt her in an attempt to hurt you and I and I won't play this game anymore. I'm done. I'm tired of it."

He turned to leave and froze as he saw Grace's adopted father coming down the hallway towards them. Jefferson didn't hate Grace's parents. He just didn't like them all that much. The only reason for that was because they had custody of his daughter and not him.

"Thank you sheriff," the preacher held his hand out. Emma tried not to look at Jefferson as she shook his hand, "Thank you for finding Paige."

"Thank you, sir. But it wasn't me that found the lead and brought her out, It was Mr. March here," Emma looked back to Jefferson, "That got us the lead."

Jefferson blinked and then looked at the man.

The preacher, Marcus was his name, held out his hand and shook Jefferson's reluctant one, "Thank you so much, Mr. March. You saved my daughter's life. If there's…anything I can do-"

"May I see her?" Jefferson asked, "I must want to make sure she's okay."

The preacher looked at Emma who gave a slight nod to assure him that Jefferson could be trusted, "Very well, I'll take you to her."

Emma moved to the window and watched Jefferson sit on the edge of his daughter's bed, grabbed her hands and started sobbing. Tears fell down Emma's face and she wiped them away in frustration.

Rumpelstiltskin was watching her when she turned away to give Jefferson some privacy, "He's wrong. What happened to Grace wasn't your fault."

"Well, he's not really blaming me for what happened to Grace, he's blaming me for not automatically jumping in to make Regina pay for what she did," Emma bit the inside of her cheek and looked away, "I'm tempted to think he's right."

"This problem could be easily solved," he told her gently and he honestly looked like he wanted to help. Like it wasn't self-serving.

"Dad, it's been a really long day and you know what my answer is going to be and you know why. Don't ask me to do this and don't try to use Grace against me. I won't. I'd rather see that potion burn right now than risk putting it out there"

Rumpelstiltskin looked like he wanted to argue but he didn't press it, "You know, you scared me today."

"There was nothing else I could do," Emma said.

"I know," he said and they started walking to a couple of chairs,, "Emma, when I had your biological father put that potion in Maleficent's head, I didn't know then what I know now. I didn't know that I'd come to love you as if you were mine for all these years. If I'd known…if I even suspected that I'd come to value you as much as I do now…I would never have done that. There are several measures that I would never have taken if I'd known. Emma, if something should happen to you…I don't even know what I would do. It would kill me and it hurts every day to know that your life is constantly in danger because f me and I'll regret that every day of my life. But please Emma, don't purposefully do things that will land you in more danger than you're already in. Let Grace be this one exception to staying safe."

Emma embraced her father and felt the strength she'd been trying so hard to have all day drain from her. She let herself cry in his arms like she was a child again. She'd fought and killed a dragon and saved Grace's life. She was tired of being strong. She was tired of being the savior for the day. She was tired and she was in pain and she just wanted to see Jefferson through what little time he had left in the hospital with his daughter, go home, hold her son as long as she could and then take a bath. Probably in that order.

Tomorrow, she would work through the fact that Regina tried to kill her by luring her down to a mine where a dragon perceived her as a threat.

Tomorrow, she would comfort and help Jefferson get through what had happened to him today. He wouldn't want her help now, he was furious and when he was furious he wanted to be alone.

Tomorrow, they would work through that kiss and the profession of love that they'd both made.

Or maybe that could wait till the day after tomorrow.

But tonight…she had done enough. She would let her father comfort her, she would let him take the reigns as the strong one in this family they had…tonight, she was going to rest and try to work through the knowledge that for all the victories she'd won today, she'd also failed horribly.


	74. Chapter 74

Rumpelstiltskin didn't go to shop today. His leg hurt and he hadn't slept well the night before. He may not have cared much for Jefferson but his daughter was innocent. Rumpelstiltskin knew what it felt like to be separated from his child with nothing but in invisible wall separating them. However…to have that child look at you and not know you…to not know anyone…Rumpelstiltskin didn't know how that felt. It disturbed him and he couldn't get his mind off it.

The day passed slowly, he spent it on the back porch, trying to read while David played in the yard. He giggled and screamed in an attempt to bring to reality what little game was playing inside his head.

At noon, he fixed the boy lunch and sat outside with him while they ate. David studied him for a few minutes and then looked at the cane. Eagerly he pointed to it, "Can I see?"

Without a word, Rumpelstiltskin handed his cane to the boy. It was a lot heavier than David anticipated. When his hands closed over it, he nearly dropped it due to its size, "Be careful David. I need that."

David looked at him with large innocent eyes, "Will you ever get better?"

"One day perhaps," he said. When Bae was found. When magic was brought back and he was free of this mortal body. One day he could wake up on a cold day and his leg wouldn't feel like it was being torn in two before he even put any pressure on it.

David kept watching him, "What happened to it?"

Rumpelstiltskin cringed. Once Emma had asked that as well, and like when she had asked, he was taken back to when it happened. He could still feel the fear that radiated off him as they held him down. He could still smell them, and hear their taunts word for word. He could hear them screaming at his punisher to hurry up because they had to leave soon. Better time be wasted in marching than punishing a coward they'd dragged from the bushes that was too scared to even fight.

And he still remembered the pain as the large man with the hammer smashed it on his ankle so that he could never run again. He could remember his pleas turn to screams of agony and then when they left him in the mud, those agonized screams turned into pleas of mercy. How was he to fend for himself with the ogres coming and his ankle ruined beyond total repair?"

And he could still remember the fear that came with that.

Rumpelstiltskin tried to fake a smile and he brushed his hand through his grandson's hair, "It's not a very nice story and I…don't like telling it. Perhaps when you're older."

David's face fell, "Mama tells me the same thing when I ask about my dad."

"Well, your father hurt her," Rumpelstiltskin said honestly. But he didn't offer any more than that. That story was for Emma to tell, "But no matter what you think, you should know that what happened between them wasn't your fault."

David continued to stare at him. Rumpelstiltskin gave him a gentle embrace. For years, Bae thought his mother's 'death' was his fault somehow. Rumpelstiltskin would've gladly eased that fear if he'd known Bae had it but Bae was good at hiding his emotions when he wanted to.

He wondered if Bae somehow blamed himself again when he found out his mother was alive. Or…had been at the time.

"Hey."

He pulled away at his daughter's voice and gave a small smile, "Emma, I didn't see you come up."

She looked like she'd slept as well as he did.

"Yeah, I'm just stopping by…," she shifted her position, "I'm going to Jefferson's."

David's eyes lit up at the mention of his friend, "I wanna go!"

"No David," Emma said gently, "Not this time."

She looked concerned. Rumpelstiltskin could understand her hesitation to bring her son. Jefferson was understandably in a bad place over the loss of his child. To bring David might be like rubbing salt on an open wound and he might see it as her parading her son around while he lost his.

And she'd never seen Jefferson like how he probably was. She was probably also worried about David's safety. That in turn, meant that Rumpelstiltskin was worried about Emma's.

"Be careful," he told her.

"I will," Emma nodded. She walked up and kissed her son's forehead, "I don't know when I'll be back."

"Just let me know," he said and smiled at his grandson, "We'll figure out what to do without you."

"Okay," Emma hesitated again and then awkwardly turned away.

David looked at him excitedly, "We can do man things!"

Rumpelstiltskin smiled, "David, in this town, that's not as exciting as you would believe."

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Jefferson wasn't picking up his phone. So Emma didn't know what his mindset was going to be if she came up to check on him.

Or if he'd even be alive.

The idea that Jefferson might kill himself since Grace was gone made her feel like she'd been hit in the chest and the wind was driven out of her. Then it felt like a stone had settled in her stomach.

She would've come sooner but work had been busy that morning and she couldn't get away without drawing suspicion. This was the only time she'd been able to find time for herself and so she got in the car and headed to the house on the hill.

When Emma was twelve, Jefferson had given her a key to his door. He'd told her that the house was huge and sometimes he couldn't hear her when she knocked or rang the doorbell. He told her that she could just waltz in anytime and Emma had been convinced afterwards that this was a good sign for their eternal love one day.

And now here she was…kissed by him and told he loved her and things were so bad for them right now that they couldn't talk about it. Not until she helped him work through what happened with Grace, if he ever could. And Emma wasn't sure how she could help him. She'd never gone through what he had. No one in this town did…that they could remember.

She went into the house and found him in the living room. He saw her and immediately his eyes filled with happiness, "Did she come out of it?"

Emma shook her head, "No."

That hopeful look he had was immediately crushed and he looked like he wanted to curl in a ball on the floor, "She shouldn't be punished for what we did."

"No," Emma said quietly, "She shouldn't."

"I wanted to protect her and this is what happens," he hissed and then he saw her stricken face, "It's not your fault, Emma. I don't blame you."

"Could've fooled me after that outburst in the hospital," she whispered.

He looked gave her a guilty look, "I'm sorry."

"It's forgiven," Emma said without hesitation. She'd lashed out at him before under pettier circumstances and she'd said worse.

Jefferson crossed over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Emma cringed as his arms pressed against his burn wounds and at her cry of pain he pulled away. He looked confused for a second and then it dawned on him, "How bad were you hurt?"

"Nothing that can't heal," Emma said and watched as he lifted some of her shortened hair up. She felt her stomach clench as he rubbed it between his fingers.

"You saved my daughter's life," he told her, "You're a hero."

Emma felt like she'd been slapped and her eyes filled with tears, "But I didn't save Grace," she sobbed, "She's trapped and thanks to me, she'll never be the same again. If I'd gone against Regina first…if I hadn't accused you then I might've-."

Jefferson's eyes filled with tears, he put his hands against her face, "I don't think she would've been safe no matter what you did."

"We don't know that," Emma said and let her walls down, "We might've been able to save her and we couldn't and it's my fault. I involved you in this-."

"I involved myself," he reminded her and tears poured down his face, "It's not your fault."

Emma's sobs went into hyperventilations as she realized all the times she could've stopped his involvement but didn't because she was selfish.

Jefferson wrapped his arms around her a little more gently this time and she clung to him. She felt him cry against her. For a few minutes, they just held each other and let their walls down because no one was there to see them or judge that the savior or one of her stronger allies were currently being weak.

Or weak to some eyes.

Emma pulled away slightly when Jefferson lifted his head. She stared at him for a couple of seconds before his lips found hers again. Emma tensed but returned his kisses immediately. As soon as she returned them, their kisses became more desperate and hungry. Emma could almost taste his desires mixed with her own. She started to cave as his hands gripped her hips. She'd waited for this…for a very long time. It would be understandable if they went this far. Both were hurting, both had expressed feelings for each other and both were desperate to find a sort of connection that they couldn't find anywhere else with anyone else.

But Emma got ahold of her senses when she felt her back hit the couch. This wasn't right. She didn't want their first time together to be because both were looking for comfort and nothing else. They still had so much they needed to work through before they even thought about taking this far of a step. Both would regret it when it was over and it'd take their relationship several steps backwards.

He pulled up her shirt and kissed her stomach and she moaned in disappointment as she had her senses and her hand on his shoulder, "Jefferson…stop."

Jefferson froze and lifted his head up. Emma pulled her shirt down and pushed some of his hair back from his forehead, "What?"

"Not like this," Emma whispered, "Not now."

Guilt flashed across his face and he sat up. With a gentle pull, he helped Emma sit up as well. She put her feet under her and both awkwardly cleared their throats.

"Sorry," Jefferson whispered.

"I returned it," Emma told him, "But I think we both know that would've been a mistake."

He was quiet, but he didn't argue. He rubbed his hands together and stood, "I need a drink."

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The loss of Grace's mind didn't give Regina any feelings of guilt, she hadn't had that feeling for years. Why should she? She won. She hurt Jefferson in a way that he couldn't recover from. All actions had consequences and if he was willing to lose his daughter to work with that…woman then Regina would gladly take her from him.

It was a victory. Regina would've loved it if Emma had gotten eaten by Maleficent but this was better. Emma had to live with the knowledge that her continued relationship with Jefferson led to the destruction of his daughter. He'd never get her back. Regina would kill Grace before that happened.

She wasn't the bad one in this. Regina had warned him. Several times. Her actions towards Emma and her family should've been warning enough as well but he continued risking his daughter's safety in some foolish agenda to best her.

Regina walked outside to see to her tree. This was good. Jefferson would blame Emma and stop their little affiliations and the relationship would end and Emma lost a big ally.

And it was all Emma's own fault.

She smirked and grabbed the basket. This was a big victory and she couldn't wait to see how they reacted next.

She went to grab some apples and froze when she stared at the blackened shriveled fruit. Regina dropped her basket in shock as she stared at the tree…her tree that had been hers since she was a little girl.

It was dead.

The only thing she had left and they _killed _it.

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Emma held her scotch in her hands and scoffed, "You killed her tree?"

"I _wanted _to burn it down," Jefferson told her a bit drunkenly, "I wanted to burn the house down with her in it too, but I was a bit worried she would know it was me."

Despite their predicament, Emma giggled, "You should have burned it down."

"Regina loved that thing like it was her child. She carted that thing with her everywhere she went. Winter palace? She brought it with her. Summer Palace? She brought it with her."

"But that poor tree didn't do anything to anyone," Emma pouted, "It's a person too."

Jefferson giggled at her joke, "I sort of wish that I'd hung around to see her face. I can just imagine the smoke blowing out her nose and ears.

Emma giggled again and took another sip. They were both sitting on the floor with their backs against the couch. Jefferson didn't want to get his white couch dirty in case they spilled their drinks, so here they were. Emma tried not to spill it on his rug. She still had plans for that.

"Emma," he said after a few seconds, "If you could have access to magic and it was David that was catatonic, what would you do?"

Emma cringed. Did he know about the magic that Emma kept hidden in the sheriff's trunk? No, he couldn't know. Only she and her dad knew about that and he wouldn't blab. Was this hypothetical?

She pondered it and bit her lip. IT was a hard choice. Did she stick to her guns as a savior and watch her son suffered because it was the 'right' thing to do? Or did she become a hypocrite and abandon everything she would've believed in about everyone else's child just because he was _her _son?

IT was something that Emma had asked herself since she got Grace out of that cave.

"I don't know," she whispered truthfully and took another drink, "I don't."

Jefferson sighed, "It's not an easy question."

"No," Emma whispered, "it's not."

He put his drink on the coffee table and started to lay down. Emma let him put his head in her lap. She stroked his hair affectionately and they both watched the fire.

"I was hoping that killing her tree would've made me feel better," Jefferson whispered.

"Revenge usually isn't as satisfying as we would like to believe. ," Emma said.

"I wish there was a way I could've hurt her worse." He said.

Emma could understand how poisoning a tree would seem like a petty consequence compared to brain wiping a child, but one had to look at it from Regina's point of view.

"Burning a house down full of trinkets that she has no sentimental value for wouldn't have done much," Emma told him, "You hit her where it hurt. Don't do anything more that you'll regret. One day Grace will wake up. When magic comes back, that'll be the first thing I do is make sure she's healed. Don't ruin that reuniting by doing something stupid."

He brushed his hand across her knee.

"And you know that you matter to me," she told him, "it would break my heart if you did something insane."

He nodded and lifted his head up. Emma took a small chance and gave him a gentle kiss. He returned it and then settled back down in her lap, "I suppose we should talk about this."

"Hm," Emma bent down to an uncomfortable angle and rested her head on his shoulder, "Maybe when we're sober."

"When we're sober, all I think about is my daughter," he told her, "I'm not sure what good I'll be when I have all my senses."

Emma heard his voice break and he started sobbing again. Emma held his hand and kissed his temple, "Well," she whispered, "Maybe it'll get your mind off it for a while."


	75. Chapter 75

Rumpelstiltskin's leg hurt, so he did not take David upstairs to get him to start calming down for the night. Instead, he had David bring him the book that Mary Margaret had given them a long time ago that somehow knew about their homeland. He then wrapped up he and David in a blanket and proceeded to have David practice reading. The child pointed to each word he read and other than a few stumbles…read it flawlessly. The more Rumpelstiltskin complimented him, the more excited he got and the more he wanted to read.

Did this child ever get tired?

They were on their third story when someone knocked on the door. With an annoyed sigh, Rumpelstiltskin struggled to find his way out of the blanket and put David on his own two feet.

Ugh, it was Regina at the door. He was halfway tempted not to answer it but she was the kind not to get a hint. With a tired sigh, he threw the door open and glowered at her, "Yes?"

She held out an apple…if it could be called that, "My tree is dead. Why?"

"Perhaps it's your fertilizer," he sneered.

"you think this is funny?" Regina demanded.

"I think everything horrid that happens to you is hysterical," Rumpelstiltskin replied honestly and tensed when he felt David standing behind his legs. The boy shyly peeked out from behind Rumpelstiltskin and then hid back when Regina put her eyes on him.

Regina even looking at David filled Rumpelstiltskin with rage, "Get off my porch."

"That little girl of yours had something to do with this, I know it."

"Well show me the proof and I'll work on making sure there are consequences for those actions immediately," he said sarcastically, "Your majesty…leave them alone. You made your move. You took Jefferson's daughter from him and you nearly had my daughter killed. The only reason I don't drag you in here and beat you until there's nothing left right now is because my grandson is watching."

"Oh how nice," Regina sneered, "You always did seem fascinated with other people's children."

"Well at the end of the day your majesty….at least the children I take end up choosing me," he smirked again.

"Yes, I'm aware of Emma's Stockholm syndrome towards the man that took her hostage for the first sixteen years of her life," Regina sneered as if she actually thought she was clever, "First Belle and now her…and you'd told me once that I was supposed to be your pawn…seems to be the only way you can get affection Rumpelstiltskin. You take other people's children away from them and expect them to love you. Did you take David from Emma so that she'd come back home"

"Oh," Rumpelstiltskin shook his head, "The hypocrisy radiating off you…"

Regina frowned and held up the apple, "Your daughter's going to pay for this…and Jefferson to. You think Grace is bad off now? Wait till-."

"No, I don't think so," Rumpelstiltskin said, "Because not only is Emma in my protection but Grace is as well. I would hate to think about what would happen to you if you punish that child any more for imagined wrongs that her father did. You've punished them enough for that. So your majesty, I encourage you to leave them alone. Because if you don't…then I'll drag you over that border and shove you over the line myself."

"You're not strong enough," Regina mocked.

"Oh your majesty, perhaps I'll try and find out I'm not…but then I'll remember Jefferson is up on that hill. And the only thing holding him back from you is my daughter and myself. And at any moment…you'll lose that goodwill from me and I can convince Emma to let Jefferson at you as well."

"you can't. She's _good," _Regina sneered

"She's human," Rumpelstiltskin reminded her, "She'll make mistakes…and she knows that you're the woman that has killed people, tried to kill her, took Grace and tried to take David…now….how merciful do you think she'll be when it comes between choosing your life or choosing Jefferson?"

Regina didn't get the chance to answer. Rumpelstiltskin slammed the door in her face.

He heard a small sob behind him.

"David?" he bent down to see the boy was shaking, "Are you okay?"

"She scares me," David whispered.

"Yeah," Rumpelstiltskin said, "She scares me sometimes too but you don't have to worry because your mother and I are going to keep you safe okay."

"Did she really hurt Grace?" David asked. The boy didn't know her personally but he did seem to know her

"Yeah David," Rumpelstiltskin said, "She's a bad woman."

The boy started crying again and Rumpelstiltskin embraced him.

Looked like he would be easing the child's fears for a few hours longer.

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The buzzing on the vibrating phone felt like a sledgehammer to Emma's head as it pierced the air. Emma opened her eyes with a groan and reached up blindly toward the coffee table. She accepted the call and put it to her ear, "Yeah?"

"Your best friend stopped by," Rumpelstiltskin said sarcastically on the other end of the line.

Oh geez, not so loud.

Due to his tone, Emma could only guess that it was Regina. She groaned and curled back up where she'd fallen asleep; against Jefferson's back right after he passed out. (Horrible at holding his liquor). Emma buried her face against his clothed back, "What did she want?"

"To accuse you of destroying her tree. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Not when it was happening," Emma told him honestly.

"She scared David."

Emma felt her blood run hot at the mention of Regina being anywhere near her son, "Did she-?"

"he's fine, he's not hurt," her father promised her, "he's just asking for you. When are you coming home?"

"Um…." Emma grabbed her coat, "I can be home in about ten minutes…no wait…it might be a good idea for you to come pick me up…it's probably not a good idea that I drive."

She heard him sigh, "Emma-."

"I might need help anyway," Emma rubbed Jefferson's back, "He's taking it hard. His moods are…unpredictable and I don't want him up here by himself."

"I'm surprised you want him near David if that's the case."

"He's not violent," Emma told him, "And he won't do anything with David watching. Maybe it can help him heal…I don't know. I just don't think it's a good idea that he's here alone."

She heard her father sigh again and a few seconds passed, "He sleeps on the downstairs foldout couch though. I know there's something going on between the both of you."

"Oh dad," Emma pulled on her jacket, "We're nowhere near that part in our relationship.

"So there is a relationship," her father noted and Emma realized he just tricked her to get the information he wanted, "I knew it."

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The drive back was slow (Jefferson had to get out of the car three times to find a bush to dump his lunch and Emma had to do it twice.) and the bumps down the road were murder. Emma needed to get someone to do something about those now that she thought about it.

They finally made it home a little past midnight. David was already asleep when Emma and Jefferson had climbed in the car and he didn't wake up when Emma carried him upstairs to get him changed for bed.

Rumpelstiltskin, despite the fact that his daughter was now thinking about a relationship with this man, found this whole thing almost amusing if it wasn't so sad. Or maybe he was gleeful that he got one over on his daughter. He'd been worried there for a while. Usually she could tell his tricks a mile away.

He looked at Jefferson in a way that told him to keep his butt parked downstairs but Jefferson was so bleary eyed, he probably didn't notice. Without a word, he walked over to the foldout couch that'd been turned into a bed for him and took off his shoes. Rumpelstiltskin watched him as he curled up in a ball on the bed and pulled the blanket over himself.

Gods, he almost looked like a lost kid.

"Hey," Emma whispered and came down the stairs, "So David's still out like a light…"

Her eyes fell on Jefferson in the back room and she stopped and blushed when her father looked at her, "I suppose we'll have to talk about this eventually Emma."

"Can't it wait till the morning though?" Emma asked, "I just came down to say goodnight and steal most of the headache meds from the downstairs bathroom."

Gods knew he'd be needing sleep before he even thought about talking to her about her _Jefferson _of all people, "I suppose."

Emma's shoulder's lifted…as if the world's burdens were lifted off. She kissed his cheek and he cringed at the smell of her breath, "Thank you, dad."

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For a second, Rumpelstiltskin forgot that Emma had brought her friend over to spend the night so he nearly had a heart attack when he came downstairs in his slacks and undershirt and Jefferson was sitting at the dining table.

Oh, he was still here.

Rumpelstiltskin limped over to the stove, "Have you had breakfast?"

"Not very hungry," Jefferson whispered.

Rumpelstiltskin grabbed a pan, "You should probably eat anyway."

Jefferson gave him a dazed look.

"Where's Emma?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

Jefferson shrugged, "I woke up to her leaving

Rumpelstiltskin drew in a breath…he was quite familiar with that look, he saw it in the mirror for years after he lost Bae because of his own actions, "Where's Emma?"

"I don't know…I woke up to her leaving."

Rumpelstiltskin prepared the eggs and bacon. He might as well go into the questions that he didn't want to know the answer to…because he might not get another opportunity such as this, "What are your plans for my daughter?"

There was silence. Jefferson looked up at him, "I don't know. We haven't gotten a real chance to talk about what we want to do."

"I didn't ask that."

"Then by all means," Jefferson said angrily, "Get to what you're really asking and leave me alone."

Rumpelstiltskin drew a heavy breath, "I don't need to remind you of the man you were before when it came to women. And I think that she can do better than you by far."

"You've made that clear," Jefferson said.

"And so…as hard as it is for me to know that my daughter has feelings for you since she was _seven_…imagine how I feel to know that you return them…it would be easier to accept if I know that you have honorable intentions in mind. "

"Like what?" Jefferson challenged.

"I want to make sure that you care about Emma for her and not because she's some sort of replacement family for you. Emma's already been abandoned and you know the damage that did to her psyche and with Graham's death…and the depression she was in for months…I just want to make sure that you are looking to court her for the right reasons and not some attempt to alleviate some of the boredom and loneliness that you have up on that hill."

Jefferson stood so quickly that Rumpelstiltskin thought he was going to hit him. Instead he walked over beside him and started helping with the breakfast.

"I know how you feel," Jefferson said through his teeth. Rumpelstiltskin had stepped too far and he'd made him angry, "To go for years knowing that the only thing you have going for you…the only good thing you've ever done is have your daughter. I know what it's like to fear losing that and I know what it's like to lose that."

His voice broke and he drew in a breath before continuing, "And I know what it's like to want to keep your child so close that it almost smothers them because if something happens then they're gone and you're alone again. But I also know that those actions…keeping Emma from what she thinks will make her happy will only push her away even more. I'm not out to steal Emma from you and leave you completely alone again. You know that Emma wouldn't stand for that. But I'm also not going to be chased off by you just because Emma and I have a connection."

"Do you love her?" Rumpelstiltskin demanded.

"Yes," Jefferson said and grabbed the plates.

Rumpelstiltskin wanted to ask more questions but David raced into the kitchen and his eyes brightened when he saw him, "JEFFERSON!"

Jefferson paled when he saw the boy and he immediately tensed when the boy ran and wrapped his arms around Jefferson's legs. Rumpelstiltskin could see that the man's thoughts went to Grace. He started shaking and tears surfaced. Rumpelstiltskin reached towards David to get him away but Jefferson fell to his knees in front of David and wrapped his arms around him. He started sobbing and David looked confused.

"Pawpaw," David's eyes filled with tears as well, "Why is Jefferson crying?"

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To lose Grace in such a way that she wasn't there anymore was the worst pain that Jefferson had ever felt and he knew a lot about pain. At the age of 12, he'd had several younger brothers and sisters that he helped raise in a one room cabin. Most of the siblings shared a large bed in the winter and hammocks outside the house in the summer.

Jefferson was eleven when he discovered his ability to portal jump. He was twelve when his family found out about it as well and his father sold him to Rumpelstiltskin in return for fertile lands to feed the rest of his family. That pain was the first betrayal that Jefferson knew. He would have several more…friends and lovers would betray him and he would become numb in time. HE would hate humanity and exploit it because of the people he was surrounded by on a daily basis.

Rumpelstiltskin didn't even raise him. He sent him to a boarding school until Jefferson's powers were grown enough to be used and Rumpelstiltskin taught him to use them for his own agenda. When he wasn't needed, he left Jefferson up to his own devices and Jefferson drank and chased women to pass the time and ease the loneliness.

And then he met Anya. She was a quiet…mousy and not the type he usually went for. She had blonde hair and dark eyes that he was drawn to…and the curiosity turned to love and he married her within three months of meeting her and he taught himself how to be happy.

They were married a year. She gave birth to Grace towards their anniversary. Jefferson had taken that year off to help[ her settle down in the life and then be there for her as she was pregnant. He'd been so excited and terrified when he held his daughter. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to be a father…he wasn't sure how Anya trusted him not to ruin this baby but she did for some reason.

The baby was born and he needed to work to pay for them so he took a quick high paying job to take a doctor to one of the worlds to help a plague. He took the doctor, dropped him off and then brought a quarantined body home so that this world's scientists (the rarities that they were) could find out what was wrong with him.

He didn't realize anything was wrong when he got home. But Anya got sick. He wasn't sick himself but he'd carried it. She was immediately isolated where she spent a painful death crying out for him and he couldn't be in there with her.

He'd hated them for it. He didn't tell them that Grace had caught it too and after Anya died he took her to Rumpelstiltskin to beg for a cure. Rumpelstiltskin had been nowhere to be found when Anya died (Something he'd never forgive him for) but the imp immediately haled Grace without a price.

And so Jefferson lost his wife and became protective of his daughter due to his nearly losing her as well. That's when the nightmares started and Jefferson began hating himself. He took his daughter and bought a cabin in the woods because he didn't want to be surrounded by things that reminded him of what he'd brought into the house and he didn't want to be surrounded by temptations. He had servants to feed and bills to pay…

But he kept the hat though…just in case he and Grace needed a quick escape from any enemies.

He should've burned it.

When he was separated from Grace due to Regina…it hurt…it cut him deeply because he'd broken his own word and now is daughter went to bed every night with no idea where he was and if he would come home. He spent a year in that insane world….he never gave up trying to create a portal to get back to the enchanted forest.

And then the purple cloud came and took him away and he landed in a world where he was with his daughter.

And then she didn't recognize him and Regina told him the truth…that'd she'd cast a curse and she brought him here to punish him.

He could've killed her…and he might've too if it weren't for the day we saw the car drive up with a strange baby and they dumped the small little bundle in Rumpelstiltskin's arms.

And he knew she was important. It may've taken him half a year to get up the courage to go see Rumpelstiltskin to confirm it….but he knew she was special and so he had set out to become her friend. Because he was selfish and at the time desperate…so desperate that he wasn't above using a child to get what he wanted.

But then he became attached to her…so attached that it nearly killed him when he had to shove her over the border to show her that she was living a lie and to protect her from himself.

And then she came back…and she turned into a woman…

It was probably frowned on in some circles that he become interested in her after knowing her this long, they were probably right. Maybe it wasn't love like he thought it was , maybe it was just two desperate lonely people trying to connect.

But the point was…Emma made him feel SOMETHING that was worth exploring to him.

But not now. He lost his daughter…and this was worse than the other times he lost her because he knew that she'd been taken care of before. He accepted it and trusted the people that were posing as her parents. He knew that she was Grace and one day he would get her back.

Although this….he wasn't even sure that Rumpelstiltskin could heal her. Or that she'd ever be his Grace again and that terrified him. She nearly died in that cave and that scared him so much that he was nearly rendered catatonic himself.

What would he do if he didn't get Grace back?

Jefferson slept most of that morning after breakfast. HE was just so tired of fighting. He woke up around eleven to find that David had crawled up next to him to nap as well. He was holding a white rabbit toy that Jefferson had made for him.

He couldn't push David away because he was reminded of Grace. If he couldn't protect Grace, then he could protect David…Regina might go after him next.

He laid there until 11:30, trying to find the energy to get up. He wasn't certain what he'd do…make another hat? What for? He couldn't get home with his daughter like this and if there was magic left, he'd forsake the trip home if it meant using the magic to get his daughter healed.

At 11:30, he heard the front door open. He figured it might be Emma being home to check on the family…he lifted his head and Emma ran in and perched on the edge of the bed, "Jefferson!"

He could smell the mints on her breath, "Emma?"

She was glowing, her eyes danced and she grabbed his hand and smiled, "Guess what I did?"

"I don't…care for games today."

"I went to see Grace's family! Regina was pushing Grace's parents to put her into the mental institution in the hospital basement because they would be able to care for her better and I talked them out of it!"

"Good," he muttered.

"I'm not finished yet!" she pulled him closer, "And I told them that on my days off, I'd watch Grace so that her mother could have a break…Jefferson, do you realize what this means?"

"What did I Just say about games?" he asked.

Emma rolled her eyes, "It means that you can see her! You can talk to her! Just because dad can't see her real personality doesn't mean that she might not be in there somewhere. You can talk to her and let her know that it was an accident that got you separated. And when she wakes up…when dad heals her then she'll already know the story."

Jefferson's eyes widened and he sat up completely. God, he never loved this woman more than he did in this second…not even when she fought the dragon, "You did that for me?"

Emma smiled and her eyes filled with tears, "Yeah, I did it for both of you."

He pulled her in for a crushing kiss. She returned it and embraced him after the kiss was over. He held her as tightly as he could and the only things he could whisper were 'thank you's' and how much he loved her.


	76. Chapter 76

Grace was home for two weeks and it was on that 2 week anniversary that Emma got a call from Grace's mother asking her to watch her for a few hours. It was the moment that Emma and Jefferson had been waiting for. Immediately Emma hung up after she was done, called Jefferson, informed him of the time, and proceeded to get ready with her day.

She couldn't swallow her excitement. Jefferson would be so happy. His mood had changed drastically since Emma had told him about what she had done. He had spent a week with them and gone home because he missed his own bed.

He and Emma still hadn't talked about their relationship yet. Emma couldn't say that she was relieved or disappointed. Relieved because talking about it might make it real; if it was real than it might lead to heartbreak. Besides, Grace was the priority like it should be.

As for disappointment…well…..Emma wasn't completely sure how it was done over there but Jefferson kissed her before she went to fight a dragon. He told her he loved her. He kissed her when they got drunk together like…twice. And he kissed her and told her he loved her again when she got him the chance to see Grace. It was selfish probably but Emma did honestly want some acknowledgment of that. But no, they spent a week making awkward small talk. She had her work to focus on and David when she got home and Jefferson had his emotions to reign in. She now had a realization of why he was called the Mad Hatter during those weeks. He had mood swings worse than a hormonal woman. And Emma could understand it, and she tried to comfort him because if something happened to David, Emma wasn't even sure she could function as well as Jefferson had.

But it was unsettling to be see him smiling one second and then crying within milliseconds. And that wasn't so bad but if someone was crying in the same room as David then he'd start crying as well. David didn't even understand why. He just knew that something 'bad' had happened to Jefferson.

However as that week passed, he started becoming more stable (Or as her father put it; 'as stable as he usually is') and he went home. Their house settled back into its….semi whatever-normal-was state. David immediately missed Jefferson when he realized he wasn't staying anymore. Emma was certain that her father was driving a fork in his leg the morning they sat at breakfast and David said he wished Jefferson lived there with them.

But it all paid off because Jefferson was healed as well as…anyone in his position could be and that meant he was stable enough to see Grace without any trouble.

Why on earth was it five hours away?

Emma was on call, and that meant that she could hang around at home until she had to go pick Jefferson up (He insisted on it, he was too nervous to drive).

"Where's David?" Emma asked as she came downstairs that morning. Five hours and counting till she saw if her work paid off or not.

"He's in his room," Rumpelstiltskin told her from the couch.

Emma noticed that he was looking through a family photo album and she went to sit next to him, "I'm surprised that you aren't forcing him to sit next to you while he reads one of your novels."

"Well, we can't have him being too smart right now, can we? WE wouldn't want to isolate him further like you were."

"He's going to be isolated anyway," Emma muttered. She would suggest homeschooling but with her work, she knew her dad would have to do it. And with four years of babysitting while she was deputy and then sheriff, Emma couldn't ask him to do that. He'd done so much to help her already, "What are you looking at."

"Just reminiscing," he told her. Emma took one side of the album and pulled it to her lap. Some of the photos were fake. They were of Rumpelstiltskin as Mr. Gold growing up. He kept them in there for…whatever purposes. She guessed they were special to the Mr. Gold part of his personality.

Emma turned a few flips and saw one of her sleeping in her father's arms. She couldn't have been more than four weeks old in that.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled fondly, "Your mother took that one. It seems when she attached herself to you, she also attached herself to a camera. Everything you did, she took a picture of. There aren't any pictures of when you first arrived though…I do honestly wish that I'd taken some."

Emma heard some sadness in her father's voice. She rested her hand on his wrist and kissed his cheek affectionately, "It's okay, I probably would've cried if you had. I was never a fan of cameras as a child.

He turned to a picture of when Emma was a year old. She was covered in pasta sauce and grinning into the camera like she was proud that she'd managed to get it all over herself.

Emma and her father burst out laughing when they laid eyes on it. Her father put both his hands in front of his face and Emma stopped so that she could draw in a few breaths, "Oh, and that was such a pretty dress."

"It was your birthday dress."

"Oh no," Emma whispered. God, she couldn't imagine the look on people's faces as her father put something so frilly on the checkout counter for her to wear.

"It's alright," He said, "You were growing so fast that I could hardly fit you in it anyway."

Emma knew these photos by heart. Her first day of school…tons of pictures that had no special occasion that her father saw fit to take them anyway. As she and her father went through them, they laughed and shared memories together. David even came down to visit them and he saw some before he got bored and ran off.

Her father smiled as he saw one of Emma leaning against the Caddy at 16 and then he flipped over and there was David's first picture. He was two weeks old then…recently acquired by her father as a means to get her to come home.

"Wow," her dad muttered, "Hard to believe he was that tiny."

Emma felt a tear slide down her cheek. She wouldn't know. It was two months before she saw him again.

Her father looked at her, "Hard to believe that you were as tiny as he was once."

Emma flipped back to the last picture of her youth that her father had of her. There were so many missing pages that could've been filled if not for the combined stubbornness of both father and daughter. Emma and her father had reconciled and moved on. They told each other countless times that they were sorry for the decisions that they'd made but every time Emma remembered, it felt like a fresh stab to the heart.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, just looking at that photo of her at 16 years of age. She'd been so innocent back then. Even when she thought all that innocence was gone, she had no idea what her future truly held. The misery and the joy that it had brought…Emma wondered how things would be different if she knew then what she knew now.

"Dad," Emma started. Honestly, this conversation should've started over two weeks ago but both kept chickening out, "Why don't you like the idea of me and Jefferson together?"

Her father was quiet, "Now's not a good time to speak of it, Emma."

"It could be said that Graham was worse than Jefferson," she reminded him, "He used to hunt for a living, he'd murdered men before. He used to work for Regina and he shoved me into a bookshelf when we brought him...when we brought him back."

Her voice caught and she cleared her throat and regained her composure, "And his emotions were a lot more violent after we brought him back, and there was good reason for it because of what Regina did to him but he was a lot more erratic than Jefferson could ever hope to be but you didn't drag your feet near as much when I said that I wanted to marry him."

"He didn't know you as a baby."

"Of course he did. Everyone did."

"But not as close as Jefferson when you were growing up."

Emma thought it best not to bring up the fact that Rumpelstiltskin fell in love with a woman that was three hundred years younger than him and who he held captive for months, "Dad, he's the only one that I can lean on other than you. And who I can rely on fully and I trust him. Isn't that what love is?"

"There are others you could have. When the curse breaks there will be men falling at your feet."

"Who? Do I just sit here and wait for 6 more years and hope my feelings go away for Jefferson so that I can pick up the scraps left from those unlucky enough to find true love? After everything I've gone through, why _shouldn't _I be happy with my own pick?"

Rumpelstiltskin didn't look at her, "All I want is your happiness, Emma."

"I know," she told him. She knew that part of the reason as to why he wanted her away from Jefferson was so that he wouldn't be alone again. And she knew that she had hurt him and probably traumatized him in some way the last time she left him alone but she also knew that there was a large part of him that honestly didn't think Jefferson was good enough (if any man) and wanted her to be happy.

"I just don't think he'll make you happy," Rumpelstiltskin said, "If we find a way to go home, he wouldn't be able to provide for you. You'd have to give up a lot."

"I don't care about that," she told him, "I know he used to forage for mushrooms to sell among other plants. I don't need a rich lifestyle to survive. I've spent the last five years working…the only money I spend is mine. If he can't work or is too…mentally unstable in a working environment then I can work. But dad…there is no one else that I will ever be able to trust more than I trust and love Jefferson.

"Couldn't you try?" he asked.

"I tried with Neal," Emma reminded him and looked down, "And look where it got me. I was ready to try with Graham and look where it got _him._ Honestly dad…Jefferson is my last chance because if it's not him…I don't see myself loving again. I can't. I can't put myself through that hope and disappointment again."

"You're only 23 years old."

"And look at everything I've been through," she whispered, "It's far more than what a 23 year old should experience. It's more than anyone should experience. And there's only one reason I've survived it as sane as I have and that's because of you and Jefferson and occasionally mom when I have a 'non-us' problem. Dad, he makes me feel…hopeful that I can be normal after all this. He makes me feel normal sometimes."

"And you love him," Rumpelstiltskin noted.

Emma looked at him and smiled, "I do. I love him."

Hearing the words from her seemed to hurt him and he looked away, "I just think you could do better."

"And who on earth could be better?"

"I had my heart set on Archie honestly."

Emma smiled at his attempt for dark humor, "I don't think I can date my therapist."

"He's not a real therapist, it doesn't count."

"He doesn't know that," Emma kissed her father's cheek, "Dad, I'm old enough to where I don't need your permission to get married to who I want."

"You're under my roof."

"Yes, but I can always move out and we could stop talking because we're angry at each other but I don't think either of us wants that. I know I don't and I know it'd kill you if that happened. You'd be getting the exact opposite of what you wanted. Dad, I don't need your permission to get married. But I want your blessing. I need this to be okay between us. Despite your own beliefs to your worth, I think that you've been an amazing father…don't throw it away now that you have the chance to let me go and see me grow as the woman you raised me to be."

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head, "The things I've put you through…how could you say that I'm an amazing father?"

"Because you taught me to survive," Emma told him, "That's more than enough. Not everything I've been through is your fault. Most of it is Regina's."

"And who taught Regina?"

"She made her own choices just as you have. You'll have enough to answer for when the time comes. Don't try to add her sins on top of yours," Emma told him and grabbed his hands, "Papa, you taught me to be independent and to make my own decisions. Stand behind me as I make this one."

He furrowed his eyebrows, "You never called me 'papa' before."

"You wouldn't let me," Emma reminded him, "You told me that 'dad' and 'daddy' sounded much more natural in this world. Of course that was when Regina didn't know but that's getting off subject. Dad…if this continues, would I have your support?"

He looked like he was going to fight her but after a few seconds of contemplation; he finally nodded, "Yes. I'll give you my support. I won't like it, but I'll support you."

Emma felt like a burden was lifted off her shoulders and she nodded, "Thank you, dad."

He embraced her and she felt the fight drain out of him as well, "What happened to _papa_?"

Emma laughed, "I'm trying to see which endearing term I like better."

"And?"

Emma pulled back and shrugged, "I can use them interchangeably. I'm flexible like that."

She didn't tell him why she did it though. To call him dad here meant that she accepted him as her father who raised her but to call him 'papa', a fatherly term in the Enchanted Forest meant that she was accepting him as her father no matter where they ended up at.

But she couldn't be that forward about it though. He'd have a panic attack if she told him that she'd rather have him than Prince Charming as her father.

Emma smiled at her father, welcomed his affectionate kiss on her cheek and she stood, "I have to get dressed."

"Are you really entertaining this idea?" he asked, "Do you honestly think that seeing his daughter like this can help him?"

"Maybe," Emma said, "He can at least talk to her though. Get out what he wants to say to her when she does wake up."

"This could backfire," he told her.

"Anything can backfire," Emma said, "Hopefully this one wont though."

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It was quiet at first as Jefferson climbed in the car and nervously fidgeted, "Are we picking her up?"

"No," Emma said, "We're meeting them there."

"Oh," he wiped his sweaty hands on his pants, "What are you going to tell them about me?"

"You help me around the office," she said, "I have money in the budget so if they check, they won't question it."

Jefferson's eyes widened, "What if I can't do it!"

"You can do it."

"I hurt her! I left her! She'll hate me! I'll get my hopes up and when she's healed and she wakes up, she'll hate me. Its better that she stays with them as opposed to me. Look at me, I'm insane."

He was starting to doubt himself. Emma needed to get his mind off it before he demanded that she turn the car around and take him home, "Jefferson, you're not insane. Grace will understand…and I'll be there with you. It'll be okay."

He looked at her and he looked like a scared child. He put his hand on her leg and instinctively Emma pulled it away.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"I think we should talk about this," Emma said, "It's not a good time now…I know but-."

"No, I want to talk about it now," he said and looked out the window, "We keep putting it off and…we should just put it out in the open. I love you."

God, that felt so good to hear.

"I love everything you stand for and I love how you try to stick to your morals despite having your father and me to look up to. I love the way you try to do the right thing even though it's hard for you sometimes or you don't really want to do it. And that smile of yours and the way your eyes brighten…you saved me, Emma. You've done so much to help me and when you came back I fell in love with you…I don't know when. I just did."

Emma fought to keep the elated smile down because if she got distracted then she'd crash this car, "I love you too. I didn't…know we were going to make speeches but how I feel for you know is far different from how I felt for you as a child and teenager, you know that right?"

"I should hope so," he mused and looked at her like she was the most beautiful person in the world, "So what should we do about this?"

"I don't want to go too far," Emma told him, "Not now. I did that with Neal because I thought I was ready and I wasn't and I regretted it as soon as it happened and then I really regretted it when I landed in jail and found out I was pregnant. I don't regret David. God knows that boy helped me and dad through that first year I came back. We fixed our relationship for him mostly. I don't regret him…I just regret how it happened."

"Fine," Jefferson said, "I haven't had sex in roughly thirty years. I can wait a few months. It'll just make my want to marry you a lot more rushed."

Emma nearly choked, "It's a bit early to think about that, isn't it?"

"I don't see how. I'm sure you've been planning our wedding since that Thanksgiving night when you told everyone your plans."

Emma felt herself go beet red at his teasing, "That was a lifetime ago."

"It was," he said, "And if you're worried at the idea of getting married, we won't talk about it yet. Just…with the lives we lead and the enemies we have…I don't want to waste any time. I don't' want to risk losing you before we've even had a chance. "

Emma found it difficult to swallow and she cleared her throat, "And what about David and Grace?"

"Well you know that I adore that little guy. You know I'd love him like my own. And I think you could do the same with Grace…I imagine she'd love to have the woman that killed a dragon as her mother."

"Well I imagine that it's going to be weird that her stepmother was her best friend in elementary school."

He laughed, "Well, now that you put it like that…"

Emma felt her own doubt at the next question, "What happens when Grace wakes up?"

His smile fell, "Emma…you and David aren't my replacement family meant to entertain me until I get my daughter back. I'm not going to throw you away when I'm done with you. Emma…I'm not Neal. I wouldn't do that. I want you because I love you and I think that we would make a good team…and we'd be awesome parents. If this works out and Grace wakes up…then if you wish you'll be her mother. And while the family dynamic will change, nothing between us will."

Emma pulled the car up to the station and looked at him. She could still remember everything that happened that night she realized that Neal left her to take the fall for his crimes, "Promise me."

He rested a hand on the side of her face and gave her a gentle smile. Emma returned the simple kiss that he gave her and she could feel the love and passion in the gesture just underneath the surface.

Jefferson pulled back and gave her one of the mischievous smiles that she'd rarely seen in her lifetime, "How about it, Emma Gold? Will you let me court you?"

Emma didn't even have to think about it. A hundred things could go wrong and she'd end up disappointed and hurt…but she knew this was her only chance most likely. No one had looked at her the way Jefferson looked at her other than Graham. And even then…it was still so different.

Emma smiled at him and felt her stomach flutter as he waited for her to answer, "Yes…yes I'll go out with you."

He broke out into his first carefree grin that he'd probably ever had and he gave her another excited kiss.

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Jefferson had told himself that when he stared Rumpelstiltskin down and told him that he loved Emma, he was now ready for anything.

He'd been wrong.

They brought Grace in in a wheelchair. She had a feeding tube and she was attached to some contraption that collected waste. She looked so pale and weak and fragile…far more than she had when she was a baby.

Jefferson had barely glanced at her before he rushed to the restroom to throw up and have himself another cry.

This was his fault. Grace had lost her mother and her father because of him. And now she lost everything due to his actions. How much more was he going to force her to lose? It was these weak moments that he considered leaving Emma and Rumpelstiltskin to fight their own battle. They didn't need him. Not really. They had each other.

In fact, he needed them far more than they needed him. Emma kept him sane.

But he knew that he couldn't leave her, not after he promised. And he knew that he would regret it as soon as it happened. He couldn't break her heart, she meant too much to him.

What would that mean for Grace though? Rumpelstiltskin said he'd taken her under his protection but what if Regina found another way around it to hurt her?

He wished he could just kill her now but Emma and Rumpelstiltskin believed that he would fail and they'd take him over the town line and he'd end up in the same position as his daughter was. It was enough to terrify him. But maybe it was a just punishment. After everything he'd taken from his daughter, why should he get to walk around freely when Grace could not?

No, he could make it better. He could protect her. When she woke up, she would have him…and she would have more money than what she would know what to do with. And she would have a mother and a brother…he could make it right.

He wasn't sure how long he spent in that bathroom…but it was long enough for Emma to come looking for him. She didn't care about the fact that he was in the men's room, she just immediately breezed in, "You okay?"

At her concerned words, he gripped the sink, "I don't think I can do this."

"You don't have to," she told him gently. He saw the concern in her eyes.

"I have to," he said, "Otherwise I'll run the opposite way every time it comes time for this."

Emma ran her hand down his arm and he drew a few breaths. Without a word, he turned around and hugged her. Emma returned the embrace and gently took his hand. She led him out of the bathroom and he walked with her and tightened his hand every step they took towards his daughter.

"Paige," Emma said, of course she would have to use _that _name, "This is Jefferson March…he's here to help me with office supplies but I Have a bit of work to do so he'll be talking to you."

No…she was leaving him alone…

He could do this. He could do this. She was giving him time to be with his daughter.

He felt his legs shaking, so he sat down and averted his gaze, "Hi Paige, I heard it's been a rough road for you but don't worry…we're going to make you better one day…"

Silence. He looked up to see Emma had gone to her office and closed the door.

He felt the tears starting to form again. He wanted nothing more than to take her home with him…he'd care for her 24/7 but he knew that was impossible. Him talking to her now should've been impossible but Emma had done it and he'd never be able to repay that debt.

"You know," he started and felt his voice crack, "Once I had a daughter like you. And I lost her…Her name was-."

He looked up and he saw something in his daughter's eyes. A sort of…fire and love that was never in Paige's eyes.

But it was in Grace's.

Was he seeing things? No…he had to be seeing things. Rumpelstiltskin said that she wasn't in there anymore. But still…he took his chance, "Grace…are you in there?"

She closed her eyes once and opened them.

He felt as if he'd been run over and the tears started pouring down his face and then came the sobs as he reached for his daughter.

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When Emma arranged this, she had hoped that Jefferson would talk with Grace and make peace with what had happened and that somehow he could heal himself. She wasn't sure how but seeing his daughter…it'd been the only thing she could think of to do.

So she didn't expect him to nearly launch himself out of his chair to embrace his child. The minute he did that, Emma felt herself leap out of the chair. Grace was attached to several vital things and she was terrified he might dislodge them. And she wasn't sure Paige's heart could take a heart to heart hug, she just got done recovering from seeing a dragon!

Emma yanked open the door, "Jefferson!"

"Emma," he had pulled back from his embrace now…he held out his hand for her, "Emma, she's awake."

No…that was impossible, "What?"

He pulled her to face his daughter and Emma saw the tears in Grace's eyes and she stared at her father. Immediately Jefferson fell back on his knees and grabbed her hands and started crying and apologizing and trying to explain amidst heavy sobs as he could now communicate with his daughter.

Emma stumbled backwards and gripped one of the desks in shock.

Grace was awake but trapped in an unresponsive body.

And Emma currently had the only thing that could save her in a storage shed outside of town where no one but her could access it.

But if she let magic into the city to heal Grace then she was also opening up a lot of trouble on the town by giving two magic addicts access to unlimited magic.

Oh God, what did she do?

**A/N: So what should Emma do? Save Grace and let her father and Regina get magic again? Or leave Grace as she is so that the two biggest evils in FTL can't gain their power back? **


	77. Chapter 77

_Emma guided Grace by the hand as they walked through the woods. Emma was careful not to stumble over any fallen trees or ditches. She didn't want to get the clothes that she and Grace were wearing dirty _

_ "Where are we going?" Grace asked. _

_ "Sh," she whispered to Grace. No, it wasn't Grace…for some reason it was Paige here. Emma knew that wasn't quite right but she didn't question it. She just pulled Paige forward. _

_ "I've never been this deep before," Paige told her. _

_ "I have," Emma said, "It's fine. You don't have to worry about anything." _

_ Emma knew this part of the woods. She knew all the woods that were within the border and some out of it when she forgot where the town line was and strayed too far. But it was never TOO far. Her dad would be worried if she kept wandering away from Storybrooke. He believed that she might step out one day and would never get back. He didn't seem to understand that she was the savior. She could come and go as she pleased. _

_ But still, she was careful. She didn't want Paige to go over the line. She tried to remember where exactly the town border was…she wasn't sure…for some reason she couldn't get ahold of the sharper memories inside her mind _

_ Hopefully she would know it when she saw it. _

_ There was a wall of shrubs. Emma stepped through them and found herself standing in Jefferson's yard. _

_ Paige was right next to her. Her eyes widened and she started to pull away from Emma. _

_ "Emma, we can't be here!" Paige whispered, "They say the man here is crazy!" _

_ "Don't be silly," Emma kept a firm had on the child's wrist. She hoped that Jefferson had seen them or was watching them. At least this way he could see his daughter up close. They might not interact but he could see her, "He's just a lonely man. He's my friend." _

_ Emma waved towards the house. She felt kind of stupid to do so but his car was there so that meant he was there too. He never went into the woods without her. He preferred being in the house. _

_ But he didn't come out. _

_ That was disappointing. Emma frowned and started to move back towards the woods. All the work she did dragging Paige up here, the least he could do was acknowledge that he'd seen them somehow. _

_ She turned and jumped in surprise at the figure behind her. It was her father but…it wasn't him. He was the Dark One that Emma had been told about. Her father was usually quiet about how he'd looked like over there but Jefferson had been incredibly chatty and informative. His skin was gray, his eyes were like a snake's and his teeth were rotted and broken, he wasn't wearing the regal outfits that Jefferson told her he liked to wear but the dragon skin jacket that Jefferson told her he favored so very much. _

_ His hand immediately shot out and grabbed her neck in a vice grip, "Hello dearie" _

And Emma jerked away and found herself fighting against air.

She sat up and looked around to make sure she was safe. She was in her room; it was in the middle of the night. It took her a few seconds to let herself realize that it was a dream. There was no imp waiting to attack her. Her father was asleep in the next room and for now he was very _very _human.

Lightning flashed outside and thunder rumbled. Emma looked over to the right side of the bed to see her son huddled in the covers. Storms terrified him as much as they did her at that age. He'd been born on a stormy night. Emma remembered hearing him screaming as they took him away from her. The thunder had been so loud that it shook the prison.

Emma used to find her father's room the same way David found hers during a storm. For some reason, she always linked up the sounds of the storm to the sound of the curse that was headed their way when she was born.

But David was four; he was getting too old to sleep in here. Emma was going to have to talk to her dad to see how he solved the situation with her.

She considered taking him back but decided against it. He felt safe here and ever since the Grace incident, Emma wanted him within her view or his grandfather's at all times. It was something Rumpelstiltskin did agree with her on.

So she collapsed against the bed. The thunder boomed loudly outside, David whimpered in his sleep and moved closer to her. She wrapped him up in the blanket so that he felt secure.

And with the thunder nearly rattling the house and Emma's very real memories of the dream….she closed her eyes and tried to settle into what little sleep that she knew she would have.

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"If the deal with my mom fell through and you were stuck raising me in the Realms, what would our relationship have been like?"

Rumpelstiltskin looked up from the inventory that he was filling out. He'd grown used to his daughter's random questions over the years. Sometimes she asked about her parents; he told her the story countless times because he knew that she liked to hear it. But sometimes…for whatever reason…an odd question like this would attach itself to her mind and be out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"There was no turning back," he told her, "Regina was about to cast the curse and your mother was in labor with you when I made that deal."

"Yeah, I know that," she leaned against the table and ate her sandwich, "But what if…like…something happened. What if an assassin or something shot Regina through the neck before she could enact the curse and you were stuck with me? What would our relationship be like?"

He hesitated; something was bothering her but he didn't ask what. It had stormed last night. Perhaps she had a nightmare.

"There would be no relationship," he told her simply, "I would've voided the deal and given you back to your mother. When I was the Dark One, children tended not to like me. Babies would scream if I was in the room. The only way that I could've kept you is if I hired a governess to care for you until you were about one or two or so and you weren't as scared of me. But that bonding process would've been missed."

Emma played with some of the crust, "I don't think I would've liked that."

He was quiet. He would've hated it himself, "Chances are, as the dark one, I would've corrupted you the same way I corrupted so many others. Had I had magic and raised you, things would be very very different."

Emma paled. Clearly that wasn't the answer she wanted, "And how do you feel about that?"

He didn't look at her, "I would've hated myself."

Emma looked like she wanted to cry at how sad that was. She probably viewed him as pathetic now.

He was quiet as she kissed his forehead, "Well, I'm very glad that I got you as my father without magic."

She was just saying that to make him feel better.

Emma brushed the crumbs off her jeans and grabbed her coat, "I might be home late, I have therapy."

He never understood why she wanted to do that. She said it was to work on her trust issues and some of the depression she still had over Neal and her guilt about causing Graham's death. Honestly, she couldn't have known about that latter part. He didn't know why she still beat herself up over it.

However that seemed to be their deal. Emma went to therapy so that she could do better by Jefferson and he was integrating himself into their little society bit by bit so that he could do better by Emma. He and his daughter's foster parents were getting along and that pleased everyone all around, "I'll make dinner."

"Okay, I'll make breakfast in the morning," Emma circled the table he was working at to grab her umbrella. She glanced down at the glass display case, "I see someone bought that expensive ring."

He averted his gaze so that she didn't see his frustration, "Yes."

Emma smiled slightly and fondly, "Sure was pretty."

"Yes it was," he said quickly.

"Who did you sell it-," and she stopped. She put it together immediately. No one ever came into his store to buy anything. All his income was brought in by rent. There could've only been one person who bought it and she knew exactly who it was, "Oh."

"Yes," was all he offered.

"I'm surprised I didn't see his severed bloody hand on the floor," Emma muttered sarcastically.

"Only because he promised me that he was buying it as a means to plan ahead and not because he was going to pop the question anytime soon. He asked me which one your favorite was. I obliged him."

"By giving him the most expensive one?" Emma asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I didn't have the heart to tell him that your favorite ring was the one that Graham had bought," he told her, "Anyway, he paid upfront which means that you and I have a little extra spending money."

"Better use it to pay for the wedding," Emma said and zipped up her jacket.

Rumpelstiltskin frowned, "That's not funny."

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In weeks that she had been going to therapy, Emma had figured out how to say what she needed to say without giving any of the town's real secrets away.

She told Archie that she worried about herself and her trust issues. She told him all about Neal and how he had abandoned her because there was nothing all that secretive about that but when it came to Graham, it was a lot harder. She told him she blamed herself for him dying and when he asked why, she said she should've had his back. She told him that she should've realized that something was wrong but she never did.

She talked about her father and she told him that he'd told her several lies that drove her away. Emma found that while she forgave her father and reconciled with him, there was still some pent up anger towards his betrayal in her somewhere. She and Archie were in the process of working through that.

They weren't lies but they weren't going as deep into Emma's psyche was she would've liked. And there were still secrets…Emma told herself that this was only her sixth visit and she would find a way to tell him her fears and regrets without sounding insane but…she wasn't even sure that she could do that.

They hadn't even touched her issues with Regina yet.

Emma looked at her friend and swallowed nervously, "My boyfriend bought me a ring."

Archie looked up, "Well, you said things are going good, so that's wonderful."

"It's only been three weeks."

His face fell, "Ah, right. That's…that's not."

Emma looked down at her hands. There were only a handful of people that knew they were dating. Their kids knew, Archie, her dad and mom and Grace's parents also knew but that was it. When they went out, they did so separately and acted like friends. They went to dinner and held hands under the table. They went to the movies and when the theatre got dark, they moved to sit next to each other. It seemed cowardly sneaking around like this but Regina couldn't know. Jefferson had a very legitimate fear that if she found out, she'd start looking at Grace a little more closely and see that the Paige personality was no longer her main personality

And things with Grace were going fantastically well for someone in their position. She was awake, and she could communicate. Jefferson and his daughter had worked together to find a code that they could use. Grace used her thumb to tap out some code on a metal plate. It wasn't Morse code but it was something like it. With her parents' permission, Grace and Jefferson spent three weeks working tirelessly on it. That meant that he had formed a good relationship with them as well and he got to see his daughter more. He was beyond thrilled. And the more excited he got, the more Emma grew uneasy.

"I don't think I would say no if he asked me," Emma said, "I'm not even sure he'll ask me yet."

"Well it's still sort of early."

"But I know he's who I want," Emma told him, "And when it comes to me actually getting something or someone I Love, I have to fight like the devil to keep it."

"Well that's no reason to marry this quickly…or to even think about it."

"Why not?" she demanded, "I waited over a year to marry Graham because I was advised to and he died before we could be together."

"That doesn't mean the same will happen to Jefferson."

"And that doesn't mean that it won't," Emma said stubbornly, "Besides, the timing isn't the problem."

"Then what is?" he asked gently

The magic, but Emma couldn't tell him that. She spent these three weeks agonizing over this decision. She lost sleep because of it. It was an impossible choice. To choose Grace or to choose the town. Emma wanted to close her eyes and wake up to find it was a dream but she couldn't. It wasn't a dream; this was something that she had to do with horrible consequences no matter what choice she made.

She told herself that she couldn't let Grace suffer for the next five years inside her own body. She was surrounded by people who loved her but eventually Grace would go insane. She told herself that she couldn't let this child go through this after everything she'd been through but at the same time, Emma had to think about the other children that would suffer if Regina got her powers. And how the other townspeople would suffer because they wouldn't know what was happening. Their curse would keep them from fighting back. That meant that Regina would be free to inflict all kinds of pain on Jefferson and Grace and her mother and David…

Emma wanted to say that she would be able to protect them but she knew she couldn't. Her father was very uneasy about teaching her magic because he was terrified of corrupting her. He had hinted that he was more comfortable with letting the fairies teach her magic rather than ruining her like he did Cora and Regina.

Emma liked to think herself stronger than that but her ability to learn magic wasn't what she was worried about. It was how her father would react. Emma wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe he changed but she knew that she couldn't risk it. If she was wrong, she couldn't go back and fix it and she would lose her father.

But if she didn't bring magic back and save Grace then she would lose Jefferson and her own self-respect.

"I know something," she told him. She'd spent three weeks trying to find a third option, but thus far, she hadn't found anything, "That would change our relationship and I don't want to tell him because it would mean that the relationship would most likely end."

And her heart would be broken again and it would be her own fault.

"Well…if you want a real chance with him…then I think you should tell him," Archie told her, "Because if it's that important and he finds out that you lied to him….?"

"And if I do tell him, I'll lose him anyway."

"Emma," Archie shook his head, "There's no other way. Marriage is…very important. Even considering it…and if you want to have a good marriage then there can't be big secrets like that between the two of you"

"I know," Emma said, "I know…and I know that I have to do it but…it just sucks and I'm never going to forgive myself"

She stood to grab her coat and she pulled it on.

"Maybe it won't be so bad," Archie offered, "Maybe…whatever it is, you two can work it out."

"No," Emma said sadly, "We won't."

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Emma realized as she drove up the hill that she had made her decision days ago to tell Jefferson the truth. She had just been waiting to get the courage to do so.

"Emma!" Jefferson greeted excitedly as she came up the steps. The utter joy in his eyes dug that knife in her chest deeper. She almost chickened out but she knew that Archie was right. If she kept it a secret, she would never forgive herself. And if he found out then he'd never forgive her, "Emma, Grace's father offered to make us dinner one day this week as a thanks for us helping them so much with Grace."

He kissed her in greeting but she didn't return it. He pulled back, "Is something wrong?"

Emma couldn't look at him. He rubbed her arms and waited. She tried to find the right words to say, "I-I heard about the ring."

"Oh," he hesitated and then laughed, "That. Well it figures your dad would automatically tell you."

"He didn't," Emma told him, "I figured it out when I saw one of the rings missing."

"It's not something I was going to do anytime soon, Emma," he assured her, "I was going to wait till we sorted out a lot of our own personal issues before I offered it. I was just going to go ahead and get it because I was already in town this morning."

Emma felt the tears come and she closed her eyes. She knew that a lot of her own personal fears were the main thing holding them back, and here he was telling her he wanted to wait for her.

He gave her a sad smile and brushed some of the hair out of her face, "What's bothering you?"

Emma looked at him, "I love you….so much."

"Well, I love you too."

"Everything you've done….you and Grace don't deserve what you're getting."

His face started to fall, "Emma."

The story came out then. How she fought the dragon and how she'd gotten the magic. How she'd learned that she could heal Grace with it but knew the heavy consequences of what curing her would entail.

Jefferson's face was shocked at first and then it became stone the more she talked, "Can't you do anything?"

Emma shook her head, "No."

"You're the savior! Can't you find a way to tap into your magic?"

"It won't start to manifest until the curse starts weakening or magic is brought back."

"Can't you channel a little bit of that magic you took from the dragon save my daughter?" he demanded.

"It doesn't work like that," Emma told him, "It's….all or nothing and if Regina found out how to access her powers-."

"Then have your father take care of it, his magic would be back too."

"And you know how he was like," Emma said, "You know what he'd turn into. You've seen what he's willing to do to protect us without magic; do you even want to imagine what he'd do WITH it? And can you imagine if those two went at war? What it would do to the people here?"

"You could rein your father in."

"He wouldn't listen to me!" Emma told him, "That addiction is too strong and if he got bored or he thought someone wronged him... People would get hurt."

"But this is my daughter!"

"And there are other people's daughters out there that would suffer too!" Emma said.

"I don't care about them!" he snapped, "This is Grace. That's my child trapped in her own body! What would you do if it was David?"

"I don't know what I'd do," Emma told him honestly.

"So you mean to tell me that my daughter is going to be trapped in her body for five years while you have her cure and won't do anything with it?" he demanded, "She's going to suffer with dual personalities and no control over her body because you're scared of Regina."

"I'm not scared of Regina," Emma told him, "I'm scared of what she'll do and hurting you and Grace would be on the top of her list. You _know _that."

"Not if you got to her first."

"Regina has several years of knowing how to use magic!" Emma argued, "I don't have any experience. Magic is unpredictable here but that doesn't mean I'd know what I was doing! Jefferson-"

"No," he shook his head. His eyes were full of fury and hurt, "Don't talk to me."

"Jefferson," she pleaded, "Please. If there was any other way to save Grace then I would take it, but I have to think of the safety of everyone."

He stood, he was shaking so hard that Emma thought he would break down right there, "I don't ever want to see you again."

Emma sat there for several seconds after he stormed into his house and slammed his door. She felt stunned…she knew this would happen but now that it was official, she felt the tears start to come to her eyes. She put two shaking hands to her mouth and went into hyperventilation's.

She'd ruined it. She ruined a man and a child and went against her own personal belief to save every single person…just so that she could make sure she could save everyone.

And it hurt, and she hated herself because she knew that it was technically the right thing because it saved more people…but it still felt like she'd just made the extremely wrong choice.

The hyperventilation's dissolved to sobs and on the other side of the door, she heard Jefferson practically wailing in grief for his daughter as well.


	78. Chapter 78

Emma did not hear from Jefferson all that week. There was…nothing. At first Emma waited for his calls but when the third day passed and he didn't call her to apologize for how he'd snapped at her (Emma wasn't sure she deserved to be apologized to.). She would've taken him calling up to accuse her some more but he didn't. It was just…quiet.

Another week passed, David turned five. It'd been a long past few months and the celebration was much needed. They spent a quiet day at home. Mary Margaret even stopped by and spent time with the family.

There were gifts left on the porch after dinner and Emma knew who they were from.

It started to get into the third week and Emma slipped into a depression. Grace's family could communicate with her so well now that it wasn't such a burden to take care of her. They knew what she wanted and they could get it for her. Emma wasn't sure if she should be grateful or disappointed. She was grateful because Grace was doing better. She was finding at least some way to function and live. She felt disappointment because she was no longer needed and if she wasn't need then Jefferson wasn't either.

In the middle of the third week though, Emma got a call while getting supplies for a snowstorm that was set to come in. Grace's mother hated to bother her, but she asked for a break. Emma immediately accepted and called Jefferson.

He didn't pick up. She didn't expect him to but she left him a message. She wasn't going to let her feelings cloud her reasoning. He deserved to be with his daughter. It'd been almost a month since he'd seen her.

She just hoped that he wouldn't let his anger at her and her decision keep him from going to see Grace.

But that next day, as Emma got Grace on the couch and sat down to talk to her, Jefferson walked in with his hat in his hands.

Emma felt her entire body tense as he swept in. She wasn't sure what she was going to expect. Immediately the room filled with tension as they looked at each other. Jefferson stared at her for a quick second that stretched into an eternity. He kept his face unreadable, "Hello Emma."

"Jefferson," she greeted quietly. She turned to Grace and gave her a small smile, "I'll leave you alone with your dad."

She moved away and walked into her office. When she was out of the room, Jefferson immediately dropped all tension, smiled a carefree smile and went to sit next to his daughter.

And Emma knew that she was completely in the wrong for thinking that she deserved more.

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Rumpelstiltskin knew from his own little spies around town that Emma had seen Grace today. And if there was Grace, there was Jefferson.

Emma didn't talk about it when she came home. She didn't tell him about her day and that told him all he needed to know.

He saw both sides of the argument between Emma and Jefferson. He didn't pretend that both weren't right and wrong in their own very personal ways. And he was certain that the two lovebirds saw the other's view as well. That was probably why it was so hard because they both knew that the other was right as well.

But he'd seen three weeks of his daughter's depression. She tried to push it to the back of her mind, most of the time she succeeded. It wasn't like she was looking sad or crying all the time. On the contrary, she tried to focus on anything but her fallout with her boyfriend. If anything; that let Rumpelstiltskin know how much she was hurting if she was doing her best to ignore it.

And sometimes, she wasn't a good actress. Sometimes her eyes would tear up if she looked at one of his gifts…or she'd get this far away look when they were doing their own things and he knew that she as thinking about Jefferson.

So Rumpelstiltskin decided he was going to swallow his pride and go see Jefferson.

For Emma. The only reason he would even consider doing this was for her. She had been hurt so many times and the only good thing she ever got was David and her mother and she had to fight so hard every minute just to keep them safe.

Jefferson, against all reason, made her happy. Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't pretend to understand that. He honestly didn't know what Emma saw in him but he was savvy enough to know that while he didn't approve of it, both might be worse off without the other. After everything both had seen each other through, it would be heartbreaking to see them fall apart over something that Regina had done.

He slipped out of the house while Emma was helping David write his name and drove to the hill. Emma wouldn't question where he has…she would probably think he went to the shop to get some work done. Now that David was five and looking to start school in seven months, Rumpelstiltskin neglected a lot of his duties at the shop so he could focus on his grandson.

But he drove past his shop and drove to the house on the hill. The car was there when he pulled up.

Jefferson's eyes darkened when he opened the door after Rumpelstiltskin knocked, "Did Emma send you?"

"No," Rumpelstiltskin said, "She doesn't even know I'm here."

They stared at each other, for a full minute. It was then that Rumpelstiltskin realized he hadn't expected to get this far. He honestly expected Jefferson to slam the door in his face.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"For what?"

"To talk," Rumpelstiltskin said, "It's basic manners, dearie. I'm your mentor."

"And the cause of a lot of this," Jefferson pointed out.

"As were you," he reminded Jefferson.

Jefferson shook his head, "If I'd known then what I know now…if I'd known it would've been this bad then I never would've helped you corrupt her."

"Well if we all had precognition that was actually effective as humans, a lot of things would be different, now wouldn't they?" he asked, "May I come in?"

Jefferson seemed to consider it, "I'm not going to forgive that decision she made."

"I don't expect you to, dearie," he said, "Frankly if someone had done to Emma what Regina did to Grace, I'd skin them alive and rip them limb from limb and made sure they felt everything. And if it was me, I wouldn't hold you back from getting your revenge."

"So then what do you want?"

"I'm here to remind you that Emma isn't us."

Jefferson looked back to his house, "You're coming in anyway, aren't you?"

"I stopped making you pay rent the moment you started helping my daughter, your several years behind so…technically I could take this property back and kick you out if you don't."

Jefferson muttered something unintelligible and probably quite offensive under his breath and held the door open wider.

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"How's Grace?"

They'd been sitting silently until Rumpelstiltskin asked that question. Jefferson tore his eyes off the roaring fireplace and looked at him, "Do you even care?"

"A bit," Rumpelstiltskin took a sip of his tea, "Probably more than you care for the kids out there that Regina would hurt if she got that magic."

"I can't believe that you of all people are going to support Emma's decision," he spat.

"What makes you think I do?" Rumpelstiltskin asked calmly and took another sip, "It bothers me just as it bothers you but for differing reasons. Emma moving that magic out of my reach and not telling me where it is, is like an itch I can't scratch. And she knows it and it further cements her belief that she did the right thing."

"But she didn't," Jefferson said.

"Actually, it further cements my belief that she did the right thing as well," he looked at Jefferson, "It is…very unfortunate that my daughter feels as if she cannot save your daughter because she's terrified of what I would turn into. It guts me to know that Emma, for all the love she has for me, has a place within herself where she's terrified of me and what I can do. It's not an easy feeling, knowing the child you raised is scared of you."

"She's the savior," Jefferson said, clinging to his own beliefs, "She could bring you down to earth when you go too far."

"Emma's not the best judge on what 'too far' is sometimes," he reminded Jefferson, "When she's hurt, she reacts negatively. There would be times when she would be so angry at what someone would do that she would step back and let it happen."

"I think Emma's a lot more responsible than you give her credit for," Jefferson argued, "With magic, she'd be a lot more cautious."

"Maybe," Rumpelstiltskin said, "No, she probably would be. If there's anything Emma takes seriously it's her duty as a mother and protecting the town. But I don't need to remind you about my own weaknesses. The fact that I want magic back here years before the curse is broken should be an indication of how bad an idea it would be to actually bring it here. But for the sake of argument, let's say that it is brought here…let's say that Emma did bring back magic and I promised her that I would protect her and David and the town since I am the only one that would know what I was doing. And let's pretend that I actually saw fit to train Emma to protect herself against Regina as well. Let's pretend that things start out well…and then Regina, being Regina, would do something to make it wrong. You are very aware that I would do anything to protect my family. Anything. I would only stop torturing her to make sure she didn't die. Maybe it wouldn't be the first time it would happen, maybe it would be the second, or the fifth time but I would go after Regina. One day, Emma wouldn't be able to stop me, and I would slip into what I was because everything I would look at would be a slight against my family. I would lose my mind. Emma would lose her father and if I was insane enough…she would lose Charming as well…because I would make sure she never had anyone else as a father. She might even lose you if my bloodlust was enough and you did something to anger me. And there would be nothing that Emma would be able to do to stop me. She might have learned some magic, but I have been doing this a lot longer than she has. I would view what I would do as a necessary evil and I wouldn't realize what I was doing until I was alone again. So, as much as you and I hate it, Emma is right in the decision she made. She may have made the wrong choice as far as Grace goes but she can't just think about Grace. She has to think about everyone and do what's best for them. The decision she made has ripped her apart for the past three weeks…just as I imagine that it's done you. But it's not her fault. If you want to hate someone for the decision that Emma had to make…hate me and hate Regina. Emma's just reacting to what we would do."

Jefferson was quiet for a few minutes, Rumpelstiltskin watched as conflict crossed his face. Jefferson bent over and ran both hands through his hair and struggled to get ahold of his emotions.

"It's my daughter that's suffering," Jefferson told him.

"And you don't have to respect the decision," Rumpelstiltskin said, "If I were you, I wouldn't either. But you can respect her for making the decision that she did. She went against both of us to save as many lives as she could."

Jefferson drew a breath, "I want to talk to her."

"Wonderful," Rumpelstiltskin said quietly, "I'll get the car started."

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Emma's arm had fallen asleep a long time ago and it felt like pins and needles every time she moved and Every time Emma tried to move, it send waves of…whatever that sensation was that came with her struggling to get circulation back in her arm.

Emma gently shifted David's head off her arm and placed his head on his shoulder. She closed the large fairy tale book and shoved the massive thing off her lap.

"And one day, we'll live happily ever after," Emma finished the story and kissed her sleeping son on his forehead. She wondered if it was a coincidence that her son's favorite story was the one where her parents sacrificed everything to send her over.

The book didn't include her mother's ultimate sacrifice though. It never said anything about how she gave her child to the feared Dark One just so that she could live in the possible hope that Emma would be safe and loved.

She carefully wrapped his arms around her neck and stood. She carried David upstairs and put him to bed. David gave a mutter when she laid him down and covered him up but didn't seem to wake.

Emma smiled at her five year old son and brushed a hand through his hair, "We'll be okay, David."

She turned on his nightlight and turned off the overhead light.

Emma jogged downstairs to clean up for the night. Where was her dad anyway? She should probably call him to ask when he was coming home.

Emma straightened up in the living room for about five minutes until she heard the engine to the caddy outside.

Well, he was home then.

He came inside a couple of minutes later. Emma gave him a smile and moved to put the book up. Her father stood in front of the door…he didn't move. Emma tilted her head, "You okay?"

"Yeah," he took off his coat, "Um….I think you need to go outside."

"Why?" Emma started to ask and then stopped when she saw his unease. She looked outside and froze when she saw Jefferson outside. He looked as uneasy to be there as her father seemed to feel.

Emma put it together and glanced at her father. She wanted to ask him a thousand questions but her feet started moving towards the door. The cool air hit her as she stepped outside and she wished she'd grabbed a coat.

Jefferson saw her step out and he straightened up. She walked to the top of the stairs and he moved to the bottom. She wasn't sure what she should say. She could apologize…or justify her own decision but neither one seemed right.

Jefferson wouldn't look at her at first. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground, "Since Grace is the one hurt, I can't ever fully accept that you made the right decision completely."

Emma wrapped her arms around herself, "I can't fully accept that I made the right decision either."

"And I'm not sorry for thinking so," he said and looked up, "But I'm sorry for how I've treated you after everything you did for me. I told you that hard decisions were coming and when it came time to support you in making one, I failed. And that wasn't fair to you and that wasn't fair to Grace. It was wrong and I'm sorry."

Emma bit her lip, "Every day I've kicked myself for this decision. It was a hard one with no winning options and when I needed you, you weren't there."

"I know," He told her.

"I can't worry about being abandoned every time I Make a decision that you don't like or agree with," she continued, "I would save Grace in a heartbeat if I could. But I can't do it at the expense of everyone else."

He just swallowed, "But you'll forgive me if I like to think there could've been a way."

Emma gave him a small nod, "I wouldn't expect any less of a father."

Jefferson gave her a sad smile, "I've missed you."

It felt like Emma's insides twisted up. She knew she probably shouldn't forgive him this easily but how could she hold him accountable for being angry at her decision when she couldn't even forgive herself?

Emma jogged down the stairs and threw her arms around his neck. He grabbed her and held her in a suffocating embrace against his chest.

Emma kissed his face, "I missed you too."

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They sat outside on the porch swing for four hours. Emma had only stopped inside to grab her coat and gloves before she returned to Jefferson's side and they resumed their conversation.

Rumpelstiltskin tried to focus on his book but sometimes he would look up. There were times when they were sitting close together, whispering. There were other times when they were just talking and laughing.

Rumpelstiltskin had swallowed a lot of pride to tell Jefferson that he would only disappoint his daughter and that Jefferson was good for her. Well he didn't so much say the last part but it was hinted…

And it had taken a lot for him to admit that much.

But it was worth it though, for Emma. The way her eyes and face lit up when she talked to Jefferson warmed what was left of Rumpelstiltskin's dark heart. He didn't think he'd ever done anything without some hint of selfishness attached. He taught her to fight so that she could be a savior for him. He pulled her into his battle with Regina since before she was a baby. He manipulated her to stay for him and he still wished that she would always be here with him. She was the only one that had ever left him and then chose to come back and willingly stay.

But he knew that was impossible. Emma would need to leave the nest sometime and…this would be the only unselfish thing he would probably ever do for someone else. He could give her this.

Finally, Jefferson stood to leave. Rumpelstiltskin watched as Emma seemed to offer him a ride but he refused and gave her a kiss goodnight.

The idea that she might actually leave to pursue a life with Jefferson one day felt like a knife to the gut when he thought about it. He had always expected to lose her to Prince Charming and her mother. Would he end up losing her to all of them?"

Emma came into the room and sat next to him. That sly mischievous smile that she gave her father almost made him forget his own fears of being abandoned. She just looked so….happy.

"You got work tomorrow, don't you dearie?" He asked.

"I love you, do you know that?"

"I didn't do anything that I wouldn't have normally done," he said without looking up from his book, "I'm tired of you moping around the house."

Emma gave him a knowing look and kissed his cheek, "Good night, papa."

His heart swelled at that term. Like it always did now that she was getting into the habit of calling him that, "Good night, dear."

Emma stood up to go to bed and his curiosity got the better of him, "What did you two talk about."

"Oh," Emma smiled at him as she walked up the stairs, "You know. Stuff."

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Emma's room was empty when she came into it. That was a good thing. David was taking his five year old role very seriously now that Emma told him that five year olds stayed in their own room.

Emma changed out of her clothes and slipped into her pajamas. She let her clothes lay on the floor; she would pick them up in the morning before she got ready for work.

She needed sleep.

Emma kept her lamp on long enough to pull up the chain around her neck that held the ring…the ring Jefferson bought for her all those weeks ago before everything went bad.

Emma smiled at it, slipped it on her left ring finger, and went to sleep


	79. Chapter 79

**Last Night**

_It was a nice quiet moment that Emma enjoyed. After everything both of them went through, it could be said that this time they were spending together and the talking they were doing was much needed. _

_ Jefferson squeezed Emma's hand as they sat rocking on the porch swing together. Apologies were made and the other was forgiven…now they were trying to catch each other up on the last three weeks. Ever since Emma had been back, she honestly couldn't remember going this long without seeing Jefferson. _

_ "Did David have a good birthday?"  
_

_ "Yes," Emma said. She sat cross legged on the swing while Jefferson braced his foot against the floor and rocked them, "He liked the gifts you left." _

_ "I wanted to be there," he said, "But it would've been awkward, I was still mad, and I didn't want to put you in that predicament." _

_ "It was for the best," Emma agreed. God knew what Rumpelstiltskin would've done to him. Emma was pretty sure he hadn't come around to tonight's mindset until just recently. _

_ "Well I won't miss anymore," he promised. _

_ Emma smiled brightly and her chest felt like it was going to explode from how happy that made her. He was making plans to stick by her, long term commitment plans. Emma knew he probably would but expecting it and hearing it were two incredibly different things._

_ "Can I see the ring?" Emma asked. _

_ "You think I just have it on me?"  
_

_ "You keep everything of value on you in case Regina storms into your house and takes it." _

_ Jefferson stopped and gave her a mischievous smile. Without a word, he reached in his pocket and pulled out the small black box. Emma accepted it and opened the box. It was a palladium engagement ring. The band had small flowers cut into it with small diamonds placed in the band. The main diamond was huge and the parts of the band surrounding the diamond had been cut to look like leaves so that the diamond could look like a flower blooming. Emma had seen it a billion times when she was growing up and she'd always thought it unique and pretty. But now that she was staring at it, knowing it was meant for her….it just took her breath away. _

_ She looked up at him and met his blue eyes. Without saying a word, she took his hand and gave him a nod._

_ He seemed to understand, "Are you sure?"  
_

_ Emma nodded and felt her eyes start to water a bit, "Yes." _

_ Some might say it was too soon. They'd just gotten back together two hours ago. Emma didn't care. She had to fight for the things that made her happy and she didn't know how much time she and Jefferson would have. She didn't want to waste a second of it. _

_ But that wasn't the only reasons. She didn't want to marry Jefferson JUST because she didn't want to waste time. She honestly loved him and wanted to be with him. She wanted him as her husband and as a father to David. Why not? He'd practically been the one to be a dad for David the first five years of his life. He was the one that she imagined starting a family with. Relationships took trust and Emma wasn't certain she could ever love or trust someone as much as she did Jefferson. _

_ He stared at the ring and then at her and gave her an excited beaming smile, "Do I have to ask the question?" _

_ "Would you anyway?"  
_

_ He exhaled a bit and then gave her another happy grin. He didn't get on one knee. Emma was certain her father would be out here if he had. He might understand…but he wouldn't like it that they were becoming engaged the same night after they got back together. _

_ He took her hands firmly in his and he stared deep into her eyes. Emma felt her mouth go dry as the milliseconds stretched out into an eternity, "Will you marry me?"  
_

_ "Yes," Emma whispered immediately. She didn't even have to think about it. She took a moment to let it sink in and she smiled at him, "I'll marry you."  
_

_ Jefferson let out another breath of air that he'd been holding. Immediately he burst out into a grin and he grabbed her face gently. They gave each other an excited kiss. Emma pulled back and ran her hand down his face. _

_ Jefferson's smile fell, "If Regina finds out…"  
_

_ "Then we won't tell her," Emma said quietly, "We'll keep it quiet. We'll keep it secret if we have to. That way Grace doesn't get hurt, and she can't use us against each other." _

_ "I don't…want to decide much more until I get to talk to Grace. I want her to be okay with this, I don't wan- I don't want her to think that she's getting replaced as my family."  
_

_ "Do you want me to be there?" _

_ "I think…I think this is something that I have to do by myself."  
_

_ Emma nodded, she could understand that he didn't want Grace to think Emma was invading everything, "And it'll probably be a good idea that I speak to my father by myself. Probably my mother too because that's the relationship I have with both of them. Would you be here with me when I talk to David?" _

_ He nodded, "Yeah." _

_ Emma smiled and kissed him again. She removed her chain and put the ring on it. She didn't want her father to find out tonight. Too much had happened. She'd tell him in the morning _

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Her father usually got up early on rent week, which gave Emma the perfect opportunity to confront him without David getting underfoot just yet.

He was packing himself a lunch when Emma came downstairs. Good, he hadn't left yet.

"You're up early for someone that spent half the night on the porch," he told her.

Emma smiled at his faux grumpiness because she saw some light shining in his eyes. He'd done something good, he was aware of it and he was proud of himself. Everything else was just a cover.

Good, she was hoping he'd be in a good mood, "Morning papa."

"You look half dead, looks like the day's going to drag for both of us. Of all the things I could've put in the curse, I sort of wish that everyone would pay their rent to me instead of me going to them. This never happened this way over in the homeland."

Emma smiled slightly, "Well this isn't the homeland."

"It should be more like the homeland…you know some things make a lot more sense over there."

"You sound like an old man reminiscing of the good old days."

"I AM an old man reminiscing of the good old days!" he looked up at her, "Why are you up so early?"

"Because I needed to talk to you."

"If it's about what I did last night, I assure you that I did not threaten that boy's life if he didn't come down here to speak to you. He made his own choices."

"Well, give a point to development then," Emma said and sat down.

Her father saw her at the table and then sighed. He realized that this was going to be one of those talks that required them to sit down and talk like adults and that hardly went well.

He pulled back his chair and sat down. His eyes automatically went to the empty chair that David usually occupied, and then he looked back at his daughter, "What do you need to talk to me about."

Quietly, she put the engagement ring on the table, "We agreed last night."

The light slowly faded from his eyes. Emma thought he was going to get angry. She thought he might overturn the table but he didn't. He licked his lips slightly and clenched his hands but he didn't offer any other external show of his displeasure, "Oh."

"We want to keep it quiet," she said, "We want to keep it secret other than mom and you and David and Grace and her parents. I wanted to talk to you alone because I wanted to ask for your blessing."

"Emma, he and I had a deal."

"The deal is only in effect if he wants to go home," Emma told him calmly. She could deal with him like this; she just couldn't deal with him if he was emotional, "And if he wants to take me with him. You don't even know if home is still there and if I can't leave with Jefferson then he'll stay with me and your deal won't be broken."

"Emma-."

"Papa," Emma pleaded, "You promised me that you'd support me on this."

"It's too soon."

"I didn't know there was a waiting period."

"You just got back together."

"Well we're not getting married today," she exclaimed, "We don't even know when yet."

Rumpelstiltskin drew in a breath, "He can't…give you everything."

Was he still clinging to that argument? "All I want…is to get out of this alive and with my family intact and that includes you…and I want to have a husband that I love and a father for my son. That's all I want. That's all I've ever wanted."

Rumpelstiltskin folded his hands together and rested his face in his hands.

"Papa," Emma started and grabbed his wrist, "He and I are going to get married and you know that and we've talked about this. You said that you were going to support me on my decision."

"I did," he agreed.

"Will you?"

She saw the dilemma going through his mind. She knew that he wanted to argue. He wanted to hold onto her and Emma understood his desperation and where he was coming from. Without her and David, he had no one. He would come home at night to a quiet house. But she wanted her own life as well. She wanted a few years of happiness before everything hit the fan. She wasn't sure how long they all had together when the curse broke.

Rumpelstiltskin grabbed her hands and held them tightly. Emma tightened her grip when he squeezed them, "Yes, I will."

Emma felt a burden being lifted off her shoulders and she smiled, "Thank you, papa."

He looked happy for her but she could see in his eyes that beneath the pride, his heart was breaking.

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Emma sat with Jefferson on the sheriff's office couch. David played with the racecar that he'd brought with him on the floor and ignored the two boring adults sitting a ways off.

"He's okay with it?" Jefferson asked.

"Yeah," Emma whispered, "He said he'd support me."

"Like…with no strings attached? No favors?"

Emma rolled her eyes, "You know our relationship isn't like that."

"I meant for me. I'm not going to wake up one day with a knife at my throat?"

"I'm pretty sure I've made my stance on cut-throat behavior quite clear."

Jefferson shifted, "There's that deal we made."

"It's cleared. Well as cleared as it'll ever be. You just can't take me with you until we all go home."

Jefferson sighed and looked over at David, "So I guess we better tell him then."

"I guess we better," Emma said and leaned forward, "David, come here."

He looked up when she called him, stood, and ran over.

"David," Emma took her son's hands and gave him a smile, "You know that Jefferson and I have been dating for a little bit."

"Uh-huh," he looked at both of them, "But you said you weren't anymore."

"That…," Emma gave him a reassuring smile, "Was a mistake. Last night, Jefferson and I were talking about getting married."

David's eyes grew as big as they possibly could and his mouth dropped open. He looked at both of them in childish exaggerated shock, "I'm gonna have a dad?"

"Yeah buddy," Jefferson said with a gentle smile to the boy, "I'm going to be your dad."

"I WANTED IT TO BE YOU!" David screamed and barreled into Jefferson's stomach.

Jefferson's back hit the back because of the force and he gasped as he was certain this little guy had broken every rib in his body. He had…quite the tackle on him.

He quietly embraced the child and watched as David then did the same leap to his mother. Emma caught him a bit easier because she was expecting it. Jefferson made note that if they had any more kids, he and Emma aren't going to teach them how to wrestle at such a young age.

"That was easy," he said as David wrapped both arms around their necks and pulled them into a group hug, "So far, so good."

Emma scoffed, "You're not the one that has to deal with my mom.

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"You what?"

Emma stared at her mother's shocked face. She had thought that telling her father would be the hardest thing to do, but she'd underestimated her mother. She suddenly felt very self-conscious and she looked down at the cookie that she was picking apart, "I'm getting married."

"Emma! You were single! Yesterday!"

"We are on break."

"For three weeks! And now you're telling me that you're going to marry him? You were depressed for those three weeks."

"Not for the entire time."

"Well you got your mind off it in several different ways but I could tell you were still depressed when you didn't have anything to focus on. Emma. He's 29 years old."

"And I'm 23," she said, "And he's younger than Graham was."

Mary Margaret started to argue and then stopped, "He broke your heart"

"And I broke his which made us even," Emma said, "But we've made amends. We work better together than we do apart."

"You've wanted to marry him since you were a child."

Emma nodded. The curse would prevent her from realizing that Jefferson was technically the same age that he was 15 years ago. She would just take everything at face value, "I remember quite well."

"And you're sure…that these feelings aren't left overs of your childhood crush."

"What I feel for Jefferson now is completely different than what I felt for him when I was little."

"Emma," her mother looked like she just got a headache, "I wish you realized how insane that sounded."

"I'm quite aware," Emma said. She was aware that if things hadn't frozen them in time, everything would probably be much much different, "But life happens. Things happen…and…I love him."

"Are you sure he's not taking advantage of you."

Emma sort of hoped this was her mother and not Mary Margaret talking. She wanted to think that it was her mother in there fighting Emma about marrying the man that had recently broken her heart. She wanted to think it was her mother being protective because she worried about Emma since she was a little girl and she worried about David. She wanted to believe that no matter what Regina did…a mother's love couldn't be completely taken away. She liked to believe since Mary Margaret held Emma in that baby blanket from the home world, there was a connection that Mary Margaret couldn't explain. And Emma liked to think that connection was shining through now.

"I'm sure."

"Mary Margaret sighed, "What does your father think?"

"He doesn't like it any better than you do," Emma said, "But he's going to support me. He trusts me to make the right decision."

Mary Margaret flinched at that. She had to remember that Emma was an adult who had taken into account everything that Mary Margaret was worried about. Emma supposed that was hard considering Mary Margaret had known her since she was a baby and because of being frozen in time hadn't had a chance to emotionally mature the same as Emma did.

Mary Margaret drew in a few breaths to calm herself, "I'm sorry."

"No," Emma rubbed her hands, "You have every right to be shocked and angry, if David came in told me he was marrying the girl that had just broken up with him, I'd be angry too."

"Well, that's different, he's your son."

"And you're my mother," Emma said boldly.

Mary Margaret looked up, "What?"

Emma held her gaze, "You're my mother. I've always thought of you like that. My dad letting you help raise me was the best decision he could've ever made."

"Emma," Mary Margaret said quietly and quickly wiped a tear away, "I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to worry about me. Jefferson…is a good man," she said, "And I love him and he's good with David. He's more than what I could ask for and frankly after what I've put him through and expected of him…better than I deserve."

Emma's confidence seemed to settle her mother down. She looked at the ring around Emma's neck and her hand subconsciously went to twist her own wedding ring. Emma averted her eyes. She knew her mother was experiencing an emptiness that Emma could never hope to understand.

"Okay," her mother relented.

Emma smiled and moved to embrace her mom, who spent a few seconds clinging to her.

"You've grown up so much," her mother said and wiped a tear from Emma's eyes.

"Mom," Emma said in a teasing voice but she truly meant the name, "Don't."

Her mother looked her over and gave a nod of approval, "You're getting married."

Emma smiled as she realized her mother trusted her choice, "I'm getting married."

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Jefferson knew that he was the father, which made him the rule maker and the decision maker of his house. But that didn't mean he totally ignored or brushed aside Grace's opinion. She was awake and she had been through so much and he couldn't treat her like that.

Honestly, there was a small part of him that was glad that she was awake. He could talk to her about this now. It would devastate him one day if she woke up and had her heart broken because he had married or fallen in love and she had been cursed the whole time. She would think that she was replaced. The thought would further be driven home with David in the mix.

He wasn't replacing her. Emma and David would be extensions of their family. But he didn't know if she would understand that.

He and Emma were engaged now, they would marry someday, there was no doubt about that but a lot of how things would happen would depend on how Grace reacted. She was a child and she was trapped in her body and she had just reunited with him. He wasn't sure this talk would be successful.

Jefferson knew that Grace's adopted mother would sit on the porch between 3-4 in the afternoon with Grace. That was the time they got their sun together. Her mother refused to let Grace be shut up at all hours of the day like she was helpless, gods bless her.

Jefferson did not hate Grace's parents. On the contrary, he thought they were the nicest people he had probably ever met. When they met him and knew he had helped save Grace, they automatically opened their doors to him, no questions asked. He tried to stay out of their way. He knew how his interest in their adopted daughter might look. Of course they wouldn't question it. They were stuck in thinking he was the biggest hero they'd ever met…but if Regina knew about it, she would plant the seeds of doubt. She would destroy that trust that the family was trying to establish with each other.

He walked down the sidewalk at 3:30; Grace's mother saw him and immediately waved him over. Before he realized what happened, he was sitting across from Meredith; Grace's adopted mother with a glass of lemonade in his hand.

"I haven't seen you in weeks," She said, "Emma had called to tell us she and you had to cancel dinner and we didn't see you again."

He averted his gaze, he knew that his reaction was perfectly natural and probably right but he'd never forgive himself for how he treated Emma. Gods, he was so hot headed sometimes.

"I was…busy," he said and looked at his daughter. She held the love and devotion that he still recognized immediately after all these years, "Actually I was meaning to talk to you. Emma and I….we're talking about marriage."

Grace's eyes registered her shock but her slack face didn't show anything else. She was physically incapable and he quickly looked away to hide his own guilt. This was her fault

Meredith gasped excitedly, "I knew it! I knew it! I told Ben that you two were getting cozy. When is it going to be? It doesn't feel like we've had a wedding in Storybrooke in years….we haven't had one in forever now that I think about it."

Jefferson saw his daughter's eyes fill with tears and he tried to focus on Meredith, "We don't…know when it'll be. Um…There are still some bumps that we're trying to smooth out."

"Well if there's anything I can do to help…"

A plan came to his mind immediately, "Actually there is. I…I have a daughter form a previous relationship and…thanks to my own negligence. I lost her."

"I'm sorry," Meredith said quietly.

Jefferson rubbed his hands together and adjusted his position in the chair, "I…have just started renewing my relationship with her and we're working on getting on the same ground. And I want Emma to be in that relationship too. I think…I'm scared that my daughter will think that she's being replaced."

"Well surely she'd understand that's not the case if you explained it to her."

"That's the problem," he said, "It's just…not that simple. I think there's still a lot of trust that I need to earn from her. I don't want her to feel like she's been left out, I don't want her to feel like she's being replaced…I'm doing this for her. That way…I have stability. That way…when she comes home one day…which _will _happen…she'll have a mom again. She'll have a good mom and she'll have a brother. And I'm scared if I take these steps…I might lose some of the relationship that we're building up. And I would hate that because I love my daughter…getting her back has been my goal for more years than I can count. For a while, it's been moving forward slowly and I'm getting better…but I want to make sure that if Emma and I take this step, I want her to be okay with it."

He directed the last statement to his daughter. He saw that tears were rolling down her face.

She blinked once. _Yes._

He felt the tears start to fill his eyes

Meredith leaned forward, "I think…if you told her what you told me, then she'd understand."

Jefferson gave her a kind smile, "I think she would."

He thanked her for listening and stood. He slipped a sunflower in Grace's lap and gave her an affectionate pat on the head. He wanted to kiss her forehead and promise her everything but he was aware that he had her adopted mother's eyes on her right now.

Jefferson felt a small weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He was going to get some lunch from Granny's and go see Emma at the sheriff's.

He was getting married.


	80. Chapter 80

The February air was so cold that Jefferson could almost smell the chill. Goosebumps ran up his arms as he thought about it and he shivered. IT was going to snow again soon. Small flakes were going to gather pile up and cover and muffle their world as it always did this time of year. It was going to be beautiful, like it always was. He would make a habit to get up early so he could see its simplistic majesty. Here, thanks to indoor heat, snow wasn't as much of a hindrance, so he could enjoy it from his house on the hill.

Then, everyone would get out and go about their daily lives and ruin everything by trampling through it and just making a miserable mess out of everything.

Sad thought.

Jefferson shoved his gloved hands in his pockets and stared down at the gravestone. Emma had been there recently, she had put sunflowers down. It had to be her. No one else visited.

He wasn't jealous. Why should he be jealous of a dead man? In fact, he felt rather guilty. The only reason Emma was with him was because Graham had died. If Graham hadn't died then she'd be with him and she'd be happy.

Probably far happier than she could ever hope to be with him. She was going to be in for a bumpy ride with him as a husband.

He stared at the gravestone and put a white rose there. It had occurred to him last night as he was laying out the best clothes for today's event that protecting Emma would now fall on him. Well, it always had but now it fell on him completely. She wasn't someone that he could train and then send home…she was going to start trusting him on a completely different level than he had ever been trusted.

And he wasn't quite certain he could live up to those standards when he'd failed so many times before.

He would fail…and he would probably die but he was going to try to protect her. Because he loved her and his love and his trust and protection was all that she asked of him.

Jefferson nodded to the grave. Graham; the first man that Emma failed to save. The man that Emma had love and the man they'd inadvertently killed. He wasn't jealous by Emma's attachment to the memories. He knew they'd haunt her for the rest of her life but he did hope that her visits would become less frequent after they were married…just because the cemetery was the opposite way of the house.

He rested a hand on the headstone. He was a good man that shouldn't have had to die. But the world was full of good people that didn't deserve to die and Emma would find that out the hard way.

"I'll be there for her," he promised Graham…and probably himself too, "I'll protect her though everything Regina does."

He brushed some falling snow from his shoulder and turned around.

Perhaps one day, Emma would find closure out here, but he wouldn't.

He would find closure by doing what Graham never got the opportunity to do himself.

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It was still dark when Emma, her son, and her father all piled into the Caddy to go to the clock tower. David was dozing on and off in his suit but Emma and Rumpelstiltskin were wide awake and alert.

It was going to snow soon. The wedding was supposed to be tonight until they got word that the storm was moving in faster than anticipated so they agreed to have it done that morning so they could get supplies and go home. Emma hoped that they could get this done before everything started and the tracks betrayed what they were doing.

"Remind me why this tradition is important again?" Emma asked.

"It's tradition, if you're in a village like we are, to marry in the center of the village. It's a good omen. Something about…being the center of attention. The library…is the center of our little village. And to make it better, we're going to have it in the clock tower. The highest point in town that's the center of everything. You'll be at the center of attention but you'll be completely hidden."

"You like the irony," Emma noted.

"It is rather funny," he smiled and then the smile faltered, telling Emma how desperately he was holding himself together, "I will miss you, Emma."

"Dad," Emma said as the guilt hit her, "We'll see each other every day."

"It won't be the same," he said, "Going into that big empty house every evening…not having David practically tackle my legs when he's home and I just get into the house."

Emma bit her lip. She and Jefferson had agreed that her father could visit as much as he wanted. Jefferson was no stranger to loneliness and isolation, "I'll miss you too."

"Forgive me, child," He gave her a quiet smile, "I am very proud of you Emma, I do hope you know that. My reluctance is because of my own selfish desires alone. I am aware that this will make you happy…and I will support you but I don't necessarily have to like it."

Emma kissed his cheek, and he gave a small sob and pulled her into a crushing embrace. Emma wrapped her arms around his neck and felt him cling to her

"I've only broken two vows in my life dear," he pulled back and wiped a tear from her face, "The first one was for your adopted brother…and I'll never forgive myself of that. And then I broke my vow that said I'd never love again and it was broken because I love you. I hope that when the day comes, you'll always remember that."

Another tear slipped down Emma's face, "How could I forget when everything you do to protect me reminds me every day?"

Rumpelstiltskin's face fell at that, and he grabbed her face and pressed his lips against her forehead. How in the name of the gods did she grow up like she had with only a father like him to see as an example? Perhaps it was just a fluke.

Emma wiped her eyes again, "We- we're going to be late."

"It's five in the morning," he said, "And the bride always decides when the marriage starts."

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Emma hoped that the clothes bag she was carrying in front of her hid the shaking of her hands but she wasn't sure she would be able to hide the nervousness of her voice when she spoke. Emma, it went without saying, had never been married before. That wouldn't be so bad…except she literally had no one to ask when it came to making everything work. Her father _certainly _wouldn't know, and Jefferson was a widower and Grace's parents as well as her own mother were under a curse and couldn't give her the answers that she wanted.

What if she failed at this? What if she bungled it all up like she normally did and it destroyed the relationship that she and Jefferson had? What if he wasn't as good a father as she had hoped for her son? What if she wasn't as good a mother for Grace? Would Grace think they were treating her differently when she came back? Would Rumpelstiltskin treat her differently or would he treat her like David in terms of grandchildren?

Only time would tell, Emma supposed.

Jefferson held the door open for her as she led little David in, "Hey."

"Hi," she said with a blush and kissed him

She was going to be getting married today.

"I wasn't...sure if I would be down here or upstairs…I heard it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."

"Only if she's in her wedding dress," Emma looked down, "Which I'm not wearing yet because it'd be conspicuous."

He gave her a carefree grin and kissed her, "They brought Grace. I'm guessing you had something to do with that?"

Emma shrugged, "Too early for a babysitter…and it's not complete without a flower girl."

"You know that she can't do what a flower girl would have to do."

Emma rolled her eyes, "We still need one."

He searched her eyes and gave her another sweet smile, "Everything you've done for me…."

"Is nothing compared to how you've saved me multiple times," Emma smiled back, "I have something else."

She pulled back the clothes bag that held her dress and his eyes grew when he saw what was in her hands, "My hat."

"A true hatter wears his best hat to the best occasions, that's what you told me once."

He looked up at her, "How?"

"Took it when Regina wasn't home."

"You stole it," he said with amusement

"Not stealing," Rumpelstiltskin said while tying David's tie, "It was yours to start with."

Jefferson took her hand, and Emma squeezed it.

The door opened and they all looked up as Mary came in, "The wind's picking up."

"We better leave you ladies to it then," Her father gave a quiet nod and they went to the elevator.

David tugged on Jefferson's pant leg, "I've never been up there before!"

"I know," Jefferson told him, "No one has. Thing was a monster to dust and clean yesterday."

"I _am _going to come live with you and mom, right?" David asked.

"Of course you are!" Jefferson assured as the elevator started to close.

Mary was wearing a yellow dress that made her face seem brighter. Despite her previous concerns for the relationship, she seemed to accept it a lot better once they'd all had dinner together and she saw that Jefferson and Emma's affections were genuine.

Well at least she accepted that they cared about each other…Emma wasn't sure if Mary bought it was love yet though. Perhaps in time she would. If not…then it didn't bode well for how her warrior survivor mother would take the marriage

"I remember when you were a baby you know," Mary told her as she helped her into her wedding dress, "I used to change your diapers and now here you are getting married."

Emma thought she was going to cry but she held it together and picked up a hairbrush. Emma grabbed her makeup bag. She had been confidant that her makeup was fine until her father made her cry in the car.

Her mother gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, "I just can't believe how far you've grown up."

"It was a bumpy road there for a while," Emma said as her mother started twisting her hair.

"Maybe," Mary said, "But you came through it in one piece…and if that's what matters then you did it."

And Emma started crying again.

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It took Emma and Mary Margaret 30 minutes to get her presentable enough to get upstairs. Emma's hair was still unruly but Mary Margaret had managed to twist it into some fancy French bun that formed right at the back of her neck.

But if Emma cried one more time….

The flowers for the bouquet had been yellow and white roses to match Emma and Mary Margaret's dresses. Jefferson wore a black shirt and vest and pants with his favorite grey long coat and of course his hat. The only color on his clothes was the white rose in his buttonhole. Rumpelstiltskin had chosen to wear yellow to match Mary Margaret. He had teased her last night that she was to be his date. Something that made Mary Margaret blush brighter than the tomatoes that they'd had for dinner.

Emma wished her father didn't take such odd glee in things like that. Didn't he know he was just encouraging those rumors if he made Mary Margaret blush every time she looked at him?

Jefferson took Emma's hand and stared at her with such emotion that she wasn't entirely sure she completely understood, "You look beautiful."

Emma gave him a smile, "Thank you."

Meredith stood next to Grace and they listened as Grace's father, Conroy (Horrible name, what was Regina thinking?) talk about the sanctity of marriage. Emma tried to listen to him but she was too busy staring into her husband-to-be's bright blue excited eyes.

She hoped, if they had kids, they'd have his eyes. Her's were just a boring green.

Conroy cleared his throat "Before you exchange vows, I ask that you both affirm your intentions."

Emma's hands tightened on Jefferson's as Conroy continued.

"Jefferson March, do you take Emma to be your wedded wife?"

"I do," he told her and Emma felt her heart race as it finally sunk in that they were doing this.

"Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be true and faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"

"I will," he promised and Emma knew that he would never break that vow.

"Emma Gold, do you take Jefferson March as your wedded husband?"

"I do," she said and gave him an excited smile.

"Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be true and faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"

"I will," Emma promised. There would never be anyone else…no one that she could feel for like she felt for him.

"In that you have affirmed your intentions, please now join hands and repeat after me"

They were already holding hands. Emma had been told once that some vows were written by the bride and groom but she wouldn't know since she'd never seen an official wedding personally before, but there was no point in saying things in front of all these people. Emma and Jefferson had already made all their promises when they were engaged…and it wasn't like Emma could put into words how she felt for him.

Jefferson stared at Emma and repeated Conroy, "I, Jefferson, take you, Emma, to be my wife, my constant friend and my love. In the presence of our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner and your endless love. I promise to love, honor and respect you, to laugh and cry with you, and to cherish and put my trust in you. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from today until eternity"

A tear slipped down Emma's face and he smiled and kissed her cheek.

"You're not supposed to kiss her yet!" David scolded

A small blush crept up Emma's neck and she cleared her throat, "I, Emma, take you, Jefferson, to be my husband, my constant friend and my love. In the presence of our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner and your endless love. I promise to love, honor and respect you, to laugh and cry with you, and to cherish and put my trust in you. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from today until eternity"

When they exchanged rings, Emma was so nervous that she was certain she was going to drop the ring down the catwalk but she managed to get it on. It was far different from the strong way that Jefferson gripped her hand and slid her own rings on. It would probably come off as soon as they left the building but…the rings were important. This was how it was done. Emma wanted to do everything right since this would be her only wedding.

Even if Jefferson died, she wouldn't remarry.

"I know pronounce you man and wife, you may now kiss the bride-."

Emma grabbed Jefferson by the lapels of his coat and pulled him over to her for a kiss. He kissed her with as much enthusiasm as she gave him and they pulled back and smiled…probably like two idiots.

She was Emma Gold-March now.

Which was sort of odd…and it would sort of take some getting used to.

Mary Margaret was the first to embrace her. Mary Margaret excitedly whispered her congratulations over and over while Emma embraced Conroy and Meredith. Jefferson stood off to the side and chatted with the preacher for a second and Emma moved to Grace. The girl watched her with careful eyes.

Emma leaned over, "I'll protect him, okay?"

Grace blinked once. Yes.

Emma smiled at the girl and turned to her father. He kept his face stoic…much like he always did in public, "Congratulations Emma."

"Thank you, papa," she said and kissed his cheek.

Mary took her arm, "We better get you changed before you have to go out there."

"Yeah," Emma smiled at her father and left to walk to the elevator.

"So…why do you want to keep this secret again?"

"Because it's no one's business," Emma said with a shrug and she and her mother got on the elevator. They closed the gate and Rumpelstiltskin activated the door.

The last thing Emma saw before the door closed was Conroy tilt his head and ask Jefferson, "What's with the hat, anyway?"

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Emma and Jefferson and David and Rumpelstiltskin brought enough groceries to last both their houses a week, which was how long these storms usually lasted in Storybrooke and then they went to the diner for their own little celebratory breakfast. Emma wasn't worried about being holed up in the house on the hill for a week. Regina shut herself up in her house (probably did horrible things for her cold blood), as did Leroy…a sheriff wouldn't be needed. It never happened.

"I appreciate you for watching him while we're on our…honeymoon," Emma told her father as they sat at the diner with hot cocoas. Widow Lucas noticed them whispering to themselves and narrowed her eyes suspiciously…but since she couldn't hear the conversation she said nothing.

"It's not a problem, I'm sure I'll enjoy the company," Rumpelstiltskin said

"If he starts to stress you out…let me know and we'll come and get him."

"I've had that boy in my house for five years," Rumpelstiltskin said, "A week more won't hurt."

Emma took another sip and looked back to the booth. Jefferson had asked for a few minutes with David so that he could explain why they had to keep this relationship quiet. Emma wanted to be there but Jefferson saw this as an opportunity to bond.

"It'll be like it's our secret," he told her on the car ride to the diner.

"Something bothering you dear?" her father asked.

"It's nothing."

"It's never nothing with you," he said.

Emma blushed, "What do you know about the other women he's been with?"

"Ah," Rumpelstiltskin smirked, "Nervous about the wedding night, are you?"

Emma blushed brighter, "Dad."

"Well, discussing this with my daughter isn't fun for me either, you know but YOU asked. To answer your question…most women he had were passing fancies for the night. The only other woman he formed an attachment for was his first wife. I don't know much about her. But she and her daughter changed him into a man that you could love one day. And that's all I know. "

"Hm," Emma took another sip of her cocoa.

The radio told them that the storm would be there very soon.

"We should probably go home soon," He told her.

Emma looked back at Jefferson and David, "Well…give them a few more minutes."

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Jefferson's wedding ring still felt incredibly weird pressed up against his shirt on the chain that he and Emma had both bought matching pairs of. And he was certain that even though his cravat and vest and shirt hid the necklace, any moment it could fall out and everyone would see it.

And they'd see him with David and know what happened this morning and the entire family would be in danger.

But for now, the town would just think that he and the Gold family were on a friend visit, just like they did a million times before

"Can grandpa come live with us?" David asked as he bit into his eggs

"Sometimes," Jefferson assured him. He wasn't quite sure Rumpelstiltskin wanted to live in the same house as him.

"Will I have a sister or brother?"

"Perhaps," he popped the syrup bottle lid for the boy and poured it over his pancakes, "Would you like that?"

David kicked his feet under the table, "It'd be nice to have someone to play with."

There was loneliness in the boy's eyes that Jefferson was sorry for, "Well it's a bit more complicated than that, you'd have to wait for them to grow up."

"I think I want a brother," David told him in a way that seemed to think Jefferson could just…make that happen.

"Well your mother and I will get right on that," He poured a large glob of syrup onto his pancakes as well.

"Can I call you 'papa'?"

Jefferson nearly dropped the bottle at that. He had expected that they would work up to that and it would take time. Not be a few hours later, "I-I don't know David, would you like to call me papa?"

David shrugged, "I know you're not really him, just like I know mama isn't really grandpa's. But she calls him 'dad'."

"Well, you shouldn't have to do that just because your mom does, you should do it if you want to. Do you want to?"

David hesitated and gave a quiet little nod, "I want you to be my dad."

Jefferson smiled, his heart started racing and he thought it was going to pop out of his chest. He was going to have a son! And he didn't care if he was really Neal's. In Jefferson's eyes, he was the one that was helping to raise him. David was his son, "I think I would be honored."

Jefferson wouldn't replace the look of gleeful happiness on David's face for anything.

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Emma wrung her hands together slightly and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She wanted this moment and the many that would follow. She literally dreamed about it constantly. But that didn't mean she wasn't nervous. Jefferson had been in relationships with a ton of women before he'd met his first wife; Emma had only ever been with Neal six years ago.

Her hands shook a little. She knew that he'd be gentle and understanding and he would take care of her through this. She still worried about giving him that control though. She still worried about getting this close and losing him through either internal or external forces.

The last time she'd taken this step, her heart was broken, she was left pregnant and had no choice but to go home when she hadn't wanted to originally. What happened if Jefferson did the same? No, No, Jefferson wasn't Neal. She was just letting those old fears take ahold of her again and ruin the relationship before it happened. He wouldn't leave her. He wouldn't abandon her. He would stay. He would be her husband and he would be a father to David and to Grace and to the next child they would have…and the ones that followed. He had proven countless times how much he loved her. He had shown her time and again that he did. He would…he would stay by her side.

Then why was she now so scared of losing him?

Emma straightened out the small white lace slip and walked out of the bathroom. Jefferson was tensely sitting on the edge of the bed and he only looked up when she came into the room. All fears about him leaving were temporarily forgotten as his eyes met hers and he gave her that look he'd been giving her since they were together, "You look beautiful."

Emma felt the heat rising in her cheeks and she felt a bit exposes. Sometimes, she would stay the night in his guest bedroom to keep him company and he'd see her in her tank top and pajamas but never something like this, "Thank you."

She moved towards him, her hands intertwined with his. He brought them up to his lips and kissed them tenderly, "Are you nervous?"

"A little," Emma told him honestly, "It's been awhile"

"We don't have to now…if you don't want to."

"Of course I want to," she playfully grabbed him by his vest and kissed him, "I've been looking forward to ripping your clothes off for a while."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "I'm just a little nervous, that's all."

"Worried that you won't be able to keep up with me?"

"Always," she teased and went to unknot the cravat knotted around his throat

His hands automatically went to grab her wrists and stop her. Emma stopped and watched guilt cross his face, "Sorry Emma, it's not a pretty sight."

"I've seen it once," Emma said. He'd always taken great pains to hide it from her. Even when they were sparring, he wore a turtleneck…when he slept over at their house, he slept in a turtleneck. The only time he didn't hide it was because she had dragged him early out of his bed to help her when she worried about her dad killing Graham to hurt Regina, "It's not so bad."

But she didn't make a move to unknot it. After a quiet moment, he reached up and unknotted it himself. Emma had never been this close to the gruesome scar that ran around his throat but it wasn't the worst she'd seen. The mangled ankle of her father was still worse than this.

He looked up, waiting for her reaction of disgust but she didn't give it. Why should she? This was the mark of a father who betrayed everything he believed in so that his daughter could have a future. Or at least tried to make sure she did.

It didn't bother Emma. It was part of him. She ran a finger down the scar on the left side of his neck. He leaned into the move and kissed her wrist. Chills ran up Emma's arm. She straddled her husband's lap and kissed the scar. Jefferson's breathing hitched and he automatically pulled her closer. He covered her neck and shoulder in small kisses. Both of their hands worked to unbutton his shirt and was ripped free. Emma felt his muscles right underneath the skin. She gave her husband a long loving kiss and shoved him back on the bed. Her slip soon joined his vest and shirt on the floor.

Jefferson grabbed her hips and flipped their positions. Emma smiled as his lips met hers again. Emma ran her hand down his bare back, felt him tense and then he pulled away. He searched her eyes and gave a nervous swallow, "You're sure?"

Emma nodded, "Yes."

He gave her such a sweet smile that her stomach turned to butterflies. He brushed some hair from her already sweaty forehead, "I love you."

Emma smiled, "I love you too."

And after that, for that night at least, Emma gave her complete trust to Jefferson.


	81. Chapter 81

Jefferson was tired. He and Emma had spent most of the day in bed acquainting themselves with the other, sleeping when they wanted to, and grabbing something to eat when they were hungry. Jefferson had made sure to be gentle to his wife. He knew about her emotional scars when it came to the men in her life and he didn't want to somehow hurt her in any way and sour the relationship before it took off.

And Emma had worn him out. That woman was like the Energizer Bunny.

He wanted to get some sleep but he couldn't. He wasn't used to someone else being in the bed with him. He dozed on and off but every time Emma shifted, he was awake…checking on her. He didn't have to go far, she was right up against him with her arm slung over him.

It was cold in here, gods. He pulled the blanket up over him and his wife and he kissed the top of her head so not to disturb her.

He could do this, he was confident that he could now. He had Emma supporting him and David had called last night to say goodnight and he called him 'papa'. Jefferson didn't know why but hearing those words again just nearly made him emotional. The same kind of emotions he felt when he looked in Grace's eyes and saw that love and hope there.

He had a family now…one that he needed to protect at all costs.

And he could do this. He had to.

Emma stirred against his chest and lifted her head up. He smiled when he saw her face through the tangle of blonde hair, "Hi."

She brushed it away and smiled at him, "Hey."

Gods, he loved her. It was difficult to explain for him but he felt like she had saved him. Gods knew what would've happened to him up here alone if Emma hadn't taken an interest in him. Especially after what he'd done to her to throw her over the line…gods, he'd never forgive himself for that moment of weakness.

But if he hadn't, and Emma had grown up here then he probably would NEVER have taken this interest in her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she pressed her lips against his chest and he tried not to react. He wasn't sure he was physically capable of making love to her again right now, "You didn't hurt me."

Jefferson kissed her again and adjusted the pillows so that he could be more comfortable and he stretched. He needed to get out of bed and get breakfast going…but it was so comfortable!

"Jefferson?"

"Hm?"

"When this is over and we go home…how many kids do you think we should have?"

"Thinking about that, already?" he teased, "I thought we had five years."

"We do….possibly. When I asked dad about it years ago, he said he didn't know if a man under a curse and I could conceive or not."

She didn't say his name but he knew that she was talking about Graham, "Well how many kids do you want?"

"Three or four I guess," She muttered, "I want a large-ish family…I didn't have many kids to play with when I was little…it'd have been nice to have some siblings."

"Large families aren't that great," he said, "It's a lot of hard work and a lot of attention so none of the kids get left out."

"We could do it."

"My father didn't," He said stubbornly. He still remembered that fear when his father stood him in front of that deformed imp and told Rumpelstiltskin that he could have Jefferson for a price. Jefferson hadn't even understood what was going on, nor had he been informed about what was going to happen before it did.

"You're not your father," Emma reminded him.

"I could barely pay for the one child I did have," he reminded her, "What makes you think I could pay for more?"

"Because your personality that Regina cursed you with bestowed upon you all sorts of knowledge and talents that you wouldn't have otherwise. And you have me and I can work too."

She thought it was so easy, but this world didn't work like the old world did He wasn't sure he could get her to understand that because she had never been there.

So he offered her a compromise, "We don't have any more kids than what we can afford to have."

"Okay," Emma agreed, "But I at least want to have one more with you."

"We'll have two already when everyone wakes up and Grace is healed."

"I know," Emma ran a hand across his abdomen, "But I want a baby that has your eyes."

"And what if the baby's born and they have yours?"

Emma shrugged, "Well, then if we can afford it…we'll try again."

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Her honeymoon night (and day) was the best that Emma had ever had. Of course the only one she'd ever been with in this way was Neal…and she was pretty certain it hadn't been that great. But she was also aware her own jaded view now that she looked back on that relationship might skew how she had felt then.

And the way he kept going. God, Emma could use some of that energy. He'd worn her out.

She had been hoping for some sleep last night but he snored. Loudly. That was going to take some getting used to. The sex…Emma was more than happy to keep practicing at so that she got used to it but the snoring was going to take some work.

She dozed while Jefferson showered and then she went and took a shower of her own.

Breakfast was almost complete by the time she got downstairs. Jefferson had had a lot of time to practice his cooking up here and breakfast looked amazingly delicious.

Emma sat next to him as they ate, "Where are we going to live when we get home?"

Jefferson shrugged, "I dunno."

"I'd like to live close to my dad at least."

He shrugged, "I know a nice field close to the Dark Castle…pretty scenery…we could setup a small farm there I guess."

Emma messed with some eggs on her plate, "Do you…do you think that he'll go back to what he was?"

Jefferson looked up and saw real fear on her face. While Emma made a show of pretending she had moved on to her father's atrocities in his past, Jefferson knew the things he did terrified her. She had confessed to him once that she thought she only accepted him now without dragging her feet about what he did was because she genuinely felt she had had to in order to survive. There was no doubt in Jefferson's mind that Emma truly loved her father but that didn't mean she loved everything he did. How easily he could slip up again was constantly on her mind. And why shouldn't it? She had David to think about. And if his own son wasn't enough to save him, then could his adopted daughter?

"I don't know," he told her honestly, "Does he even talk about it?"

"No," Emma told him, "To be honest, I don't think he expects to live that long."

Jefferson put his hand on her knee to comfort her, "We'll make sure he gets home."

"That may be starting a problem we won't fix though," Emma said.

Jefferson kissed his wife on the cheek, "We'll keep him behaved."

Emma gave him a doubtful look but didn't say anything. They ate their eggs and bacon in silence and Emma gave a wistful look to the empty seat next to her. It was David's seat when he was here.

"What's wrong?" he asked, but he knew what the problem was.

She looked apologetic, "I miss David."

He stood, "Well then let's go get him."

"There's a foot of snow outside! And the roads haven't been cleared," Emma argued, "And it's a long walk!"

"Well, then I suggest we get started"

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Rumpelstiltskin did his best to only let out his emotions around his daughter or by himself.

Last night was the first night in a long time that he knew Emma wasn't going to be coming back to the house. And as the snow fell outside, he wept quietly in the pillow. It was a weakness that he felt was probably unneeded. He knew he would see Emma constantly but…gods this house was already too quiet and he still had David with him.

If he'd known he'd be gaining and losing Emma, he wouldn't have bought a house this big….its' size only served in increase how small and lonely he already felt.

"What do people do on a honeymoon?" David asked as they sat watching TV after breakfast.

"They…," Rumpelstiltskin hesitated, "Get to know each other. Very well."

"Why can't I be there?"

"Sometimes adults like to be extremely alone when they get to know the other."

David tilted his head, "Why is your face red?"

"Because I don't want to imagine your new father getting to know your mother any more than he already knows her."

David gave him a confused look, "But why?"

"David, just watch the TV," he said calmly, "Blue is about to leave another clue and I'm riveted."

They sat in silence for a few minutes and David turned to him again, "Jefferson said that I could call him 'papa.'"

"Did he?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"Yeah," David kicked his feet, "What happens….if my real dad comes back though? What do I call him?"

"I don't think you ever have to worry about that," Rumpelstiltskin said and quelled some of the rising anger at this Neal Cassidy, "I don't think he'll ever come here."

That seemed to hurt David, "Was he really so bad?"

Rumpelstiltskin looked at the boy. He knew this Neal had to be scum if he set Emma up but he knew that he could hardly judge due to the amount of his own sins. He didn't necessarily believe the things coming out of his mouth next but he was very aware that he was lying for his grandson's sake, "I think….that if he was that bad, your mother would've never erm…joined with him. But he is human…and he makes mistakes and perhaps he regrets it."

It was a mistake that would get him skinned alive if Rumpelstiltskin ever met him though.

David cuddled closer to him, "Jefferson won't abandon us, right?"

"I don't think he will," Rumpelstiltskin said, "If he does then your mother will contend with him…and then your grandpa will contend with him…but I don't think he'll hurt your mother the way your biological father did."

"Okay," David sand and pulled the blanket over himself.

"You cold?"

David nodded.

"Well, it's a big house to heat."

"Are castle's hard to heat?" David asked.

"Castles are impossible to heat," he muttered, "Unless you're magic."

David smiled up at him. With David it was different than what it was like with Emma. Emma, he had to keep the charade up so that Regina didn't find out…and he'd ripped that away from her when he had no choice but to. However, with David, there was no evil to fool…he and Emma talked about the curse freely around David and over the years David sort of caught on to what was going on and understood…most of it.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled down at the boy…oh gods; he was going to regret losing him most of all. Emma, he had slowly come to accept since she was an adult but there was something that felt unnatural about losing his grandson. He was going to miss sitting on the couch in the evenings with David planting himself at his side. The child practically worshipped him over the years and he didn't want to let David down the way he had failed Emma and Bae and Belle so many times.

They sat there quietly for several more minutes. The doorbell rang and startled them both.

"I didn't hear a car," he muttered and then remembered that the roads hadn't been cleared.

David raced ahead of him, "It's mom!"

Rumpelstiltskin used the couch to steady himself as David threw open the door. He saw Emma fall to her knees in the doorway and cover David's face with kisses, "I missed you."

David saw that his new father was watching in the doorway and he blushed with embarrassment that his mother did that in front of him, "Mom!"

Jefferson smiled in amusement at the small scene before him and came in as soon as Emma moved out of the way, "Hi."

"That didn't take long," Rumpelstiltskin muttered, talking about how long they went without seeing David.

Jefferson took it to mean something VERY different because he scowled, "I'll bet you never went for 24 hours."

Gods, he didn't want to imagine Jefferson doing that with his daughter.

Jefferson's annoyed look faded, "That wasn't what you meant, was it?"

"Hey," Emma kissed her father's cheek, "It's freezing out there."

"And your phone lines are down," Jefferson muttered.

Rumpelstiltskin looked at David and back at them, he knew why they were there immediately, "You've come to take him."

He was supposed to have a week with his grandson!

Emma looked guilty, "Yes."

He didn't want to spend this whole week of storms by himself!

Jefferson saw his panic and spoke up before Emma did, "We're bringing you too."

Emma looked at Jefferson and nodded warmly. They wanted him there? For the week? Why?

"No," he refused politely even though he was begging to say 'yes', "You should…get your family settled…and you should get into the 'swing of things' as they say in this world."

"Nonsense," Jefferson said, "You're part of the family too. Just pack some clothes and some food and we'll be on our way."

"Walking," he noted, "We won't get anywhere very fast though"

"Then we'll stop and rest," Emma promised him, "As many times as it takes till we're home."

Gods, they would regret that. But they wanted him there…and he would endure anything if it meant being with his family instead of being utterly alone.

"Sit by the fire and warm up then," he said, "And I'll get packed."

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"Could we go hunting?"

Jefferson struggled to get over the large hill of snow. It was an easier feat said than done because of the five year old weight on his back. David hadn't made it three blocks before he claimed he was tired so Jefferson took him on his back. Jefferson called bull on David claiming exhaustion but he knew that David had been looking for moments like this to have with a dad for a long time. It wasn't like Rumpelstiltskin could carry him on his back, could he?

"I'm not sure there's much to hunt here," Jefferson told him.

"Could we go fishing then?"

"We probably could," Jefferson told him and watched Emma kick up snow to form an easier path for her father, "I don't see why not."

In truth, he had been giddy to carry David like a real father would…and now the boy was asking to spend time with him? It just made him so very happy. He had thought David might have a hard time accepting him as his father but things were going well for now. He would enjoy it.

But he had to look cool for David so he played like he was laid back about the whole thing.

David rested his head on his new father's shoulder, "I love you, papa."

Jefferson stopped and he felt a tug at his heart. He hadn't expected THAT this soon. He thought that surely it would take time to build up this new relationship but now that he thought of it, David had been looking to see him as a father for a very long time. Every hint and every look made sense now that he thought about it.

And gods, he had wanted to hear that for so long. It affected him when Grace spelled it out but to hear it?

He shifted David on his back and cleared his throat, "I love you too, David."

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All of them were so tired by the time they got back that most of them could barely keep their eyes open. Rumpelstiltskin settled into the guest room immediately and went to sleep. David insisted on reading a story for his dad before he settled down amongst the boxes in his new room (Emma and Jefferson had slowly and quietly been moving their things to his house for the past few days).

Emma and Jefferson were exhausted as well but Jefferson had made them both a nice cup of cocoa and they watched the snow come down again.

"They say this cell will last all day," he muttered, "Good thing we got home when we did."

"Yeah," Emma curled up next to him and took a sip. She wasn't even sure this could keep her awake, "Sorry if David slowed you down."

"Are you kidding?" he asked and tried to ignore his aching back, "I was more than happy to carry him."

"Me wanting him here didn't ruin the honeymoon did it?"

"Of course not," Jefferson protested, "Anyway, what's the point of a honeymoon if you can't go anywhere? We'll have a belated one when the curse breaks."

Emma knew what he was getting at. When her biological parents woke up, they would be hurt and angry that they missed the wedding. Five years was a good time to renew her vows, she supposed. They could have their honeymoon then.

She looked at the cup and then back at him, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being so patient about my dad."

"Emma-."

"You do know that when you offered to let him come by anytime, he's going to take full advantage of that, right?"

"I don't mind," he told her honestly, "I know what the loneliness can do. And I wouldn't dream of standing in the way of you and your father's relationship."

To be honest, if this wasn't a secret from Regina, he wouldn't mind Rumpelstiltskin having a room of his own…maybe that was insane though. Maybe that was just him trying to bring in as many people as possible to offset the loneliness he'd felt for years. Anyway, Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't want that. He would probably want Emma to have her own family for a while before everything hit the fan.

Emma took his hand and kissed it, "Thanks all the same. I know how hard it must be for you considering that you and he don't get along all the time."

"We have the same goals and same motivations," he said, "And we both want what's best for you and David and sometimes I think we disagree on what that would be but I do think we get along better than you think we do. And don't forget that this is your house now too and you get a say on who comes here and who doesn't too."

"Yeah," Emma said and smiled, "I'm still getting used to that."

He smiled, and kissed her, "Wanna go to bed?"

"I would love to," she told him.

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Regina was absolutely bored.

Back in the day, she'd just called Graham over to alleviate the boredom but since he wasn't here anymore, she had no one.

Well she had Sidney but honestly…spending most of the week with him was a worse curse than being alone.

She was napping when the phone rang. Without looking at it, she reached for the phone and put it to her ear, "Yes?"

"Regina!" she heard Sidney's voice on the other end, speak of the devil, "You wouldn't believe what I saw."

"What?" she asked. If he was calling her because some rabbit bounced through his yard.

"I saw Emma and Mr. Gold and David walking through the snow with that man that lives on the hill."

Regina rolled her eyes; was that honestly new? Once Regina let Emma know she was aware of her existence, Emma hadn't cared about whether or not people saw her friendship with the Mad Hatter, "Oh, is that all?"

"That was two days ago, they haven't come back."

"And?" Regina asked, "This wouldn't be the first time Emma went to stay with Jefferson or vice versa. You already looked in the windows to find your scandal and you didn't find it."

"David was riding on the man's back and he and Emma looked awful chummy," he said, "Things could be changed…they could be…._doing it." _

Regina rolled her eyes as he whispered the last two words, "As not surprised as I would be that that little succubus got her claws into him right after the sheriff, I could hardly care less who she sleeps with. As far as I'm concerned, they're friends to stay with each other. A romantic scandal isn't something that I care to delve into. I need something else to get Emma removed."

"Like what?"

Regina sighed. She didn't even know. She'd overstepped by pushing Grace over the border, now she knew she was on borrowed time. Anything else would get her shoved over the border herself so she had to plan her moves more carefully. Unfortunately, nothing new came to mind.

"Like something else," she snapped, "Don't bother me about the Golds unless you have something that I can actually use that would remove them permanently!"

She hung up and curled back in her covers.


	82. Chapter 82

The alarm screeched to life and Emma was brought out of her sleep. She slammed the palm of her hand down on the snooze button and ran a hand through her hair.

Way too early for this.

Emma waited a few seconds before she sat up on her elbows and looked over to her husband's side of the bed.

It was empty.

With a sigh, Emma let her head hit the pillow. She and Jefferson had been married for six months. In that time, Emma was happy. She and Jefferson were happy and Jefferson enjoyed them as a family. Every weekend he took David fishing. Usually it was for them but Emma accompanied them sometimes so that it could also double as a romantic weekend.

She knew her husband was happy with them as a family. She could see it in his eyes every time he looked at her or when David called him 'papa'. But he wasn't _satisfied_, and Emma knew he wouldn't be until Grace was healed.

Sometimes Jefferson slipped into a depression. Emma would look over and see him looking out a window lost in thought or she would wake up to hear him sobbing.

And so Emma did her best when he slipped into these dark moods. When they were in bed together, she wrapped her arm around him. When he was sitting there with that distant look on his face, Emma squeezed his hand and kissed his temple. She wanted to let him know that she was there for him but she didn't want to smother him. He would tell her his feelings when he was ready. Emma didn't have any expectations that he would though. And as long as his moods didn't affect David, she wouldn't try to force him to talk about it.

Fortunately, Jefferson knew to hide his grief over his daughter around his son. He took his duties as a father seriously and because of his attention to David, David adored him. Emma suspected that his relationship with David was what helped get him through a lot of his guilt.

But the moods weren't that frequent and Emma was quite happy with her choice. She and Jefferson did everything in their power to make sure the other was happy.

Emma dozed until her alarm went off again and she pulled herself out of bed. She took a quick shower and got dressed and went downstairs.

Jefferson smiled from the stove. "Do you ever get out of bed before seven?"

Emma rolled her eyes playfully, "Of course I do."

David was dressed and ready for his town trip, "Hi mom!"

"Good morning David," she kissed the top of his head and looked at Jefferson. He was wearing his boxers and a t shirt and jacket and socks, "Where are your pants?"

"I'm going to town like this," he teased.

"And lose you to someone like Red or Granny?" she teased back. She gave her husband an affectionate kiss, "Good morning."

"Morning honey," he gave her another affectionate kiss.

David made a face that kids his age usually made when his parents were showing affection to the other.

"Ready for today?" Jefferson asked.

Emma gave him a slight shake of her head, "Not really."

"Most parents usually aren't," he said, "If it makes you feel better, I'm not either."

"Yeah," Emma grabbed a glass of juice and drank it, "I gotta get my stuff together."

"Breakfast will be ready soon."

Emma playfully slapped his backside, "I'll be ready."

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Emma sat beside Jefferson in their car and looked behind her where David was sitting. He pressed his nose up against the glass and stared at the school. He looked excitedly at them and then back at the building, "Can we go?"

Her son was old enough to go to school. Emma wasn't sure if she should be broken hearted or proud. Her baby was growing up. He was in school now and he was going to face the same bullies she did and face the same teachers…it was going to be happening so fast now…one day she was going to blink and he'd be fully grown eager to start a family of his own.

Jefferson took her hand gently. Emma looked over and he gave her a reassuring smile.

"Yeah," Emma said quietly, "Let's go."

They climbed out of the car. Jefferson had to grab David by his backpack to keep him from running ahead, "Easy buddy."

"I don't want to miss anything!"

"You won't," Emma said, "Hey look, your grandpa's here."

David gave an exaggerated gasp and raced up to his grandfather. Rumpelstiltskin, who was coming up the walk, immediately burst into a large grin at the sight of his grandson, "Hello David."

"Grandpa," he struggled out of the large backpack, "Look what papa gave me."

Rumpelstiltskin tilted his head, "What in the name of the gods is 'Tron'?"

Jefferson shrugged, "I don't know what it is, there weren't many choices."

"Can I come to the shop after school?" David asked.

Rumpelstiltskin looked at Emma, who gave a small nod, "Only if you drive him to the house for dinner."

"I will," her father told her and gave the boy an affectionate pat on the head. Emma wasn't even sure why she even suggested it. 3-4 times a week, he was at their house anyway. And usually twice in those visits, he spent the night, "We better get him inside. If I remember correctly, all the good cubbies go quickly and the other children have had 23 years' worth of dibs to call on them."

Emma smiled at her father's deadpan humor. She found David's hand and started walking toward the building, "Okay."

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Jefferson realized before they even reached the Kindergarten room that it was going to be hard for Emma to actually let go of David's hand. To do so would be for her to accept that he was growing up…and that he was in school. She wanted to hold onto his innocence for as long as possible. The older he got, the more aware he got and Emma was truly dreading the day they sat him down and explained to him just how thin his view of reality was. David knew a lot of it but they still had to sit there and explain everything to him to make sure he knew everything that was going on.

Emma and Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin were reluctant, but David was ready to charge this new stage in life boldly. He kept pulling his mother forward until they were standing in the doorway and David realized, with dismay, that the good cubbies were most definitely taken.

Emma looked around and was automatically taken back to how it was eighteen years ago. Every child's personality, every story…her son was about to experience the exact same things she had.

It was surreal and unnatural and Emma was going to hate this for him.

Tears filled her eyes, most moms expected their sons to make bonds…to make friends. Emma already knew personally that wouldn't happen. He would spend the next five years…maybe longer than that isolated because he would never be able to form long lasting bonds with children his age. There were no children his age.

Mrs. Stalke paled when she saw the four of them standing there. Emma imagined all kinds of questions came to her mind about Jefferson…but what did that matter, rumors were always circulating about their relationship. There was always something circulating about her or her father. People were still convinced her mother and dad were romantically involved.

Just. Ew.

"Mr. Gold," the teacher greeted, "Ms. Gold…Mr. March is it?"

"Yes," Emma lied, "Hello."

"I can't believe how much you've grown."

"Yes, it's like no time's passed," Jefferson said and smiled at his own joke. Emma rolled her eyes.

David spotted some blocks and eagerly strained against his mother to go play with them, "Mama, let go!"

He was vulnerable out here! Regina prowled these hallways all the time! She could come in and out as she wished and Emma wouldn't know until it was too late. He'd be here all by himself.

"Emma," Jefferson said quietly.

She snapped back to reality and bent down, "I love you, David."

She kissed his cheek and he blushed, "Mom!"

"Don't sass your mother," Jefferson scolded lightly, "Come on; let's get your things put up."

"Okay," he said excitedly, "Bye mama, bye grandpa."

Rumpelstiltskin moved to stand next to Emma, "I didn't think he'd come down with you."

"It's David's first day of school," Emma looked at him, "We'd have to tie him up to keep him away."

"It's exposing you unnecessarily."

"Jefferson and I are entitled to some family moment's every now and then in town," she said, "People will talk, they always do."

They watched as Jefferson smiled at David and helped him unpack his things.

"He's a good man," her father finally admitted.

"I'm lucky to have him."

Her son…her baby wrapped his arms around Jefferson's neck and Emma felt a sob catch in her throat as he ran over to play with the other kids, "Will it get easier?"

"Watching your child grow up is never easy," he told her gently, "But it does have its own benefits as you will see in time."

"Hey," Jefferson put his hand on Emma's back where no one could see it, "You ready?"

Emma took one last look at her son. If she had her way, she'd stand there forever to make sure he was safe but she couldn't.

She glanced at her father, who nodded and she looked at her husband, "Yeah."

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"Your son is in a lot of trouble, Ms. Gold."

Emma drew her eyes away from the principal's face and looked at her son. He wouldn't look at her. He chose to focus on his feet which were unnaturally still.

Emma looked over at her father, he was smirking. Emma had been having lunch with him when she got the call that David had been in a fight. He was smirking. He didn't have to remind her that she got in fight her first day of school…but he did. And he started laughing and didn't stop until they got to the principal's office.

Emma was so very glad he thought her son's misbehavior was amusing!

"Were you fighting?" Emma asked her son.

"Yes ma'am."

"Why?"

"Because those two boys were hurting the other one."

Emma looked at the principal, "Really? So my son's in trouble for protecting another boy?"

"It's how he went about it-."

Emma scoffed, "I seem to remember getting in trouble for the exact same thing when I was his age."

"Well if I remember correctly, you kissed the bullied boy too," Rumpelstiltskin smirked; He was clearly having way too much fun with this.

Emma didn't listen to her father, "Let me guess, he's suspended for tomorrow."

"Yes, Ms. Gold."

"Thank you," Emma stood and pulled her son out of the chair, "And you young man are in trouble."

"You're such a mother," Rumpelstiltskin said as they walked down the hallway.

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It was not punishment to put him in his room. But it was punishment to have him sitting there at the sheriff's office while she worked. And then Jefferson, to support his wife, kept David with him in his own office after they got home.

Emma spent a couple of hours cooling down before she went to go talk to her son. Emma knew she had to do it. Her father and Jefferson would pat him on the back and congratulate him. That was probably why Emma got into so many fights growing up. Her father punished her but not enough to actually teach her not to fight. She always justified it.

Well, at least until she became a mom.

"David," Emma came into the room. Jefferson took his cue and left the room so that Emma could talk to him without distractions, "Do you know why you're in trouble?"

"I protected that boy."

"You did," Emma told him, 'And I understand why you fought. But you do understand that your actions will always have a price. You can't fight. I know you thought you were protecting him but you have to use your words. Or you have to tell an adult. I don't want to see you getting hurt and I don't want you to hurt anyone else. There are better ways to handle your problems, do you understand?"

"Yes mom."

"Okay," Emma brushed a hand through her hair.

And now she had to tell her husband why their son fighting was not something to condone.

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"It's not funny!" Emma snapped as her husband giggled in bed beside her.

"Yes it is, Emma," he teased and wrapped his arms around her.

"He got into a fight his very first day of school."

"So did you, you told me so."

"That doesn't mean anything, "Emma scowled, "He's supposed to make better choices! I'd hoped that was going to be one advantage of him literally going through the same things I did. I could tell him which choices to make and which ones not to."

"Perhaps his chivalrous spirit overrode everything his mother told him."

Emma gave him a glare, "It's still not funny!"

"Yes it is," Jefferson nuzzled her cheek, "He's like you and that drives you crazy because you know what you're in for."

"Let's talk about something else," Emma pouted.

"Like how your father was shooting him a thumb up and smirking at you because he agreed with what David did?"

"Of course my father would agree to fighting."

"He stood up to bullies. Like you did several times."

"And I got grounded more times than I could count," Emma reminded him.

"Just like we're going to have to do," he said, "Which is unfortunate because you know David did the right thing."

Emma rolled her eyes when she felt her husband gleefully whisper that in her ear. She pushed his hand off her waist as he tried to snake his arms around her. He wasn't getting his way on this, she didn't care if she was going to miss out on his seduction, "We need to teach him to do better. We need to teach him to use his words…not his fists. Those boys might be trapped innocent kids in there….they might not be able to help it."

"Or they could be just as bad," he shrugged, "Kids will be kids, they probably won't even remember what happened next year."

Emma stared up at the ceiling. That was their great punishment she supposed. One day, David would be ten and the others would wake up and suddenly, her small son wouldn't seem so small anymore.

"Probably not," she muttered and moved so that he could spoon in behind her, "But we're teaching him anyway."

"Yes dear," he said and kissed the back of her neck.

They were quiet for a few minutes.

"Emma?"

"Hm?"

"There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Okay."

"It's sort of important."

Emma turned back over on her back and looked at him, "I'm listening."

He seemed to want to say it but then he lost his nerve, "Maybe it can wait till the morning."

"I'm listening now."

"Are you sure you want to talk now_?" _he asked, "You're mad at David and sort of angry at me for accepting what he did."

"I have you in my clutches Jefferson March," she teased and put a hand up his shirt. She kissed him and teased a hand on the elastic band on his pajama bottoms, "Maybe you'll get what you're eyeing me for if I like what I want to hear."

"Okay," he said and sat up. He offered his hand. Emma accepted it and let him up her up to a sitting position, "But I doubt it."

"So mysterious."

"Emma," he took a breath and took her hands, "Emma…"

"Jefferson?" she asked with a bit of concern.

He smiled, a shy smile that reminded her more of a young boy much in love than a grown man haunted by his own mistakes, "I want to adopt David"


	83. Chapter 83

Emma let a beat pass before she was hit with all kinds of emotions.

First there was joy; Jefferson wanted to adopt David. He wanted to officially be his father in the eyes of this world's law. He was trying to get them to be a real family. He wanted David to be the son he never got a chance to have. For some reason, this felt like the ultimate step to take in securing them as a family. All she needed to do was adopt Grace once she woke up and they'd all be together.

And then there was nervousness. They'd only been married half a year. Emma had been hoping for at least a full year before they started making these kinds of commitments to each other's children. She didn't even know that Jefferson was planning this! And would it even be legal? Jefferson March didn't technically exist and she wasn't legally adopted herself. Rumpelstiltskin acquired her through back channels and a lot of bribes.

The curse didn't just affect Storybrooke; it had put their fake information out in the real world as well. There was enough to stick at first glance but it would all fall apart if someone really looked.

And then the dread came; when she gave birth, she hadn't included Neal's name on the certificate because she didn't want to risk him somehow finding out. But he was David's father legally. And if Jefferson wanted the rights to David then Neal had to give his own rights away.

Which meant he would need to be contacted. He would know that there had been a baby and he might protest Jefferson being the father. He might fight it.

He might come here.

Emma felt the blood drain her face as she thought about him coming here…. The laws of Storybrooke were odd. People couldn't come in unless someone wanted them in there. It'd been the only way the social workers got both her and David here when both were babies.

Her fear wasn't that he couldn't get in; her fear would be that he could. She knew that Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin had both made their own very specific plans about what they'd like to do to him if they all ever met.

On the bright side…at least Jefferson could get custody if Neal was dead….

Emma looked in her husband's bright eyes. He was excited about this…he was lit up like a giddy kid at Christmas. She was scared that she was going to hurt him because that wasn't what she wanted to do. Jefferson wanting to adopt David was like a dream come true. He would have a father that wanted what was best for him and who would be a good influence.

But at the cost of Neal worming his way back into their life? Emma didn't want that. She knew that he would definitely come. He'd once told her that his father had abandoned him and if they had any kids then he wouldn't do the same to them.

Of course, that was before he…abandoned her.

"Jefferson," she said and glanced at her hands.

His excited face fell slowly, "You don't want me to be his dad."

"I want you to be his dad," she told him, "I want you to be his dad more than anything in the world. But there's a way things like this are done and I want to talk to my dad about how to get this done because there are ways that this could backfire…and I want to make sure I know that my bases are covered before we head into something that could change everything."

He gave her a confused look…Emma wasn't sure just how much about this world he was aware of but he knew to be patient. When he and Emma discussed what was best for David, he always gave his opinion and input but left the final decision up to her.

"So," he raised an eyebrow, "You're saying 'yes'."

"I just want to look at some legalities first," she said, "And if everything works out then I'd love for you to be his father."

Jefferson looked stunned that she agreed so readily, he was clearly expecting a fight or something. He knew that Emma was still working through a lot of her trust issues when it came to her significant others. She still worried that one day he'd break her heart or she'd lost him. Jefferson was trying to be patient with her about that because he swore up and down he would never leave her but so had Neal. Emma knew that he and Neal were nothing alike but there was always that fear in the back of her mind that told her she might lost everything once she became the savior. After all, these things had sacrifices.

Hadn't she sacrificed enough?

But Emma usually worried about his relationship to her. She wouldn't fight with him about this. She knew that he would always do what he thought was best for David.

His stunned face melted into that bright happy smile that was…probably happier than it was before. He pressed his lips against her's, "I love you."

Emma smiled as he rested his forehead against her's. Their hands intertwined and she brought one of his hands up to her lips, "I love you too."

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The one good thing about having this house to himself was that he didn't have to fight Emma to get to the bathroom first every morning and he didn't have to wait half an hour for her to 'put her face on' as she liked to say. It was something she'd picked up from the television because no one in Storybrooke talked like that.

Well, except maybe Regina, and by 'put her face on' that meant putting on that mask to hide the hideous lizard underneath.

Rumpelstiltskin smirked at that thought as he took his time shaving. He no longer had to hurry because there was someone outside his door doing a dance and waiting for him to get out.

Gods, he wished Emma would've remembered that she had her own bathroom but she claimed the guest bathroom was nothing more than a toilet and sink and a small cabinet. And the downstairs one never worked right…

When Regina designed this house, she really messed up on the priorities. But then again why should he be surprised? She never did anything right. He heard that in her house, to get the garbage disposal working, you had to jiggle the refrigerator door.

But that was a rumor.

"Papa?"

At the sound of his daughter's voice and her sudden appearance in the doorway, he jumped. He cursed as he cut himself and examined the cut immediately. It wasn't that bad but gods, the sting was coming in already.

He turned around and looked at his daughter. It was still early, what was she doing out of bed? She should still be in her husband's bed trying to get the energy to get up! That's what she always did here and he figured that now that she was married, getting out of bed would be even more of a challenge, "Gods, Emma. Don't you knock? I could've been indecent."

"How would that look if I knocked on the door of my own house?" she asked, "And since when are you indecent clothing wise? I've never even seen you without pants."

He looked down to his pajama bottoms. It'd been a rule that he'd set even when she was a baby. Rumpelstiltskin felt very awkward exposing any sort of skin in front of his daughter. The most she'd ever seen was his arms as he wore undershirts around the house. Emma was curious as a child…any questions she thought of were immediately out of her mouth. …and he didn't want to explain why some of his parts were different from her's.

"What are you doing here, darling? Trying to give your father a heart attack so that you get the house and car?"

Emma scoffed, "Like you have a will"

"Indeed I do," he pressed a cloth to his bleeding face, "I made it when you were a child."

Emma's eyes widened and color filled her face. She cleared her throat, shoved her hands in her pockets and looked back up, "Can we talk?"

His curiosity was piqued now. He wondered what Jefferson did to send her here this early. It must've been something really bad. She never told him her marital problems if they were having any, "Of course."

Emma smiled in relief and kissed his cheek as he walked to her, "Thank you, dad."

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Several things about this world had always seemed too complicated to Rumpelstiltskin. The laws in this land were ridiculously lengthy and several times unneeded. He had several books about strange laws just for humor (The Mr. Gold in him enjoyed things like that) but one of the things that truly baffled him was adoption. In the old world, whoever was the guardian of the child at the time was the parent. And whoever that person married after the child was born became that child's other parent. If the biological father or mother was still in the child's life then it was simple….that child had two mothers and a father or two fathers and a mother. There was not any of this 'signing the rights away' nonsense that Emma had come to talk to him about.

He supposed that's what happened in a land without magic. People had to fight to get their own miracles even harder and they got bored and took shortcuts and even more laws had to be passed for those that ruined it for everyone.

Gods, he never thought he'd miss kings and queens ruling.

He looked up at his daughter. Jefferson wanted to adopt David. Well, he honestly couldn't say he expected that one. He knew the relationship between David and Jefferson in the short time they'd been stepfather and son had already taken root and bloomed but he didn't expect Jefferson would want to move this soon.

But this was good, it bring him and Emma closer together and perhaps it'd help Emma to trust Jefferson more than she already did. He knew that she was extremely happy but there was that small doubt that gnawed at her sometimes.

He understood her emotions well. It was hard to fully enjoy what you had while knowing it could be ripped away from you in an instant. He supposed she got hat thinking from him.

Despite his initial misgivings of the relationship, he felt pride in Jefferson for wanting to do this. At first he had worried. He thought that Emma was going to be doing all the heavy lifting in the relationship as he saw her bend over backwards to secure him a relationship with Grace.

He'd been wrong and for some reason, it made him happy.

But intentions weren't everything, and he knew why Emma was here, "I do believe Neal has to sign his rights away."

Emma paled. She drew in a couple of breaths and glanced down. Every muscle in her body tensed and he knew she was reliving the feelings that his betrayal had brought her.

"I'm sorry Emma," he told her honestly, "I know you thought you'd be rid of him."

Emma stared down at her feet, "What if he comes back?"

Rumpelstiltskin looked beside him where the cane rested, "I do hope he does."

Emma gave him a sharp look, 'Dad!"

"What?" he demanded feigning innocence, "Coming to see his son might teach him to man up!"

Emma glared, "I can see that smirk in your eyes! I know you don't want him here for good intentions!"

"Well like it or not, he'll have to find out if you want Jefferson to be the boy's father…and that's if you get his signature on the dotted line."

"Is there no other way?" Emma demanded.

"There are ways around it," he noted, "Things like putting advertisements into newspapers and such…"

Emma ran her hands together, "It doesn't…seem right to cheat like that."

"It's far worse to have the father of your child be here," he told her, "David doesn't deserve any less than the best and the best is your husband. Besides, Neal would probably be one to capitalize on this town if he ever happened to see magic."

Emma's jaw twitched. He knew that despite her protests to the contrary, he knew there was a small part of her that loved Neal. She always would He could see it in her eyes when she slammed him. The opposite of love wasn't hate. It was indifference and Emma was not indifferent to Neal.

But he couldn't suggest that, Emma would bite his head off. Once he'd tried to explain that it was quite easy to still love someone that betrayed you. He even had a place in his heart for Milah despite the years of abuse she put him through and their…parting.

He couldn't even mention _her _name without Emma going into a rant. Emma would never understand how someone could abandon their child for years and never turn back. She had seen her father's guilt about letting go of Bae's hand…she'd seen it consume him. That combined with David's birth made her even more protective of the stance she had toward Milah.

So going into any of those two conversations would not end well.

"I should talk to Jefferson," she said, "Before I make my decision."

"Yes, I think that would be best," he said. She was still adjusting to this whole 'two people make the big decisions' thing. He hoped she would ease into that soon. She and Jefferson would have to be making more of these decisions after the curse started weakening.

Emma looked at him and gave a smile, "Would you like a ride to the store?"

"No, I can take my car," He said, "Gas guzzler that it is."

"Okay," Emma kissed his cheek, "Thank you, papa."

She stood to leave and he thought of something, "Emma?"

"Yes?"

He felt a bit odd at this next question. It'd been awhile since it was just them (Two weeks! Emma sometimes came down to stay with him when Jefferson and David went fishing and she spent some time with him. It was usually the highlight of his weeks) "Would you like to stay for breakfast?"

Emma smiled at him, "I would love to."

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"Have you thought about it?"

Emma's thoughts were pulled away from the two squirrels playing outside the kitchen window and she looked at her husband as they did the dishes after dinner, "Yeah, I've thought of it."

He gave her a hopeful look, "And?"

"Um…I don't know," She kissed his shoulder and then started drying, "It's complicated…"

"So, explain it," he offered.

"Um…," Emma pushed her hair behind her ear, "I want you to be David's adopted father…more than _anything_ in the world."

"As you've told me."

"But Neal doesn't know," Emma said quietly. It was just something that scared her and it had kept her awake most of last night as every scenario went through her head, "And I don't want him to ever know because if he does then he'll want to come up here and he'll want to have a relationship with my son and he's just going to hurt David."

Jefferson watched her as she dried the dish so heard that she nearly dropped it, "I see."

Emma looked at her husband's hurt face, "Isn't it okay to just be his stepdad? You don't need…legal papers to be his father."

"Of course not," he said, "It's just the principal of the thing."

Well it was settled then. Emma looked back out the window to check on David and then finished putting up the dishes.

Jefferson looked at his wife, "Emma…do you think its right that he doesn't know?"

"It's not right," Emma agreed, "But it's best."

"It's his kid too," Jefferson reminded her.

"Just because he made him, doesn't mean he's David's father," Emma hissed, "You are."

Jefferson looked down at his hands and sighed, "It's not as simple as that, and I think you know that. Emma, you know how I used to be before Grace was born. When my wife gave birth, I was in such a place mentally that I wouldn't have blamed her if she took the baby and left and never let me near my daughter again."

"That's different."

"How?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, "I was worse than Neal."

Emma looked at him, "Did you ever set up your wife to take the fall for something you did?"

"No but because of my work Grace was motherless," he said quietly, "No matter what Neal did, I'm worse."

Emma took her husband's hand, "I think you were punished more than enough for what you used to be. Neal never was."

He sighed, "Having a baby changes some people."

"Not everyone."

"It changed me," he pointed out, "And in some ways…it did change your father. He's not quite as vicious as he used to be after you came along and wrapped him around your finger… Perhaps if Neal does come here, then he'll change."

"And what if he doesn't?" Emma asked.

"Then he'll have your father and me to deal with," Jefferson said, "As well as six years of child support to catch up on and the time that he owes for actually stealing the watches…if he hurts you or David again then we can fire back."

Emma looked at him, "You'd…be okay with it if he came?"

"Probably not," he didn't bother to hide the anger in his voice at what Neal had done to her, "but it doesn't seem right that one day we're all going to go home and he'll never get the chance to meet his son. While I don't like him and I don't like his actions, I do remember a time when I was not the gorgeous saint you see standing in front of you and I do think that us…being good…should offer him that chance to atone for what he did. And you'll get closure."

"And what if I chose not to contact him?"

"Then that's fine too," he said, "I'd be fine with what we have now for David."

Emma pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew he made a good point. It was probably the 'right' thing to do to let Neal know he had a son but it just felt so…wrong. But at the same time it felt equally wrong to take his rights away sneakily so that Jefferson could have his son.

And if she told him…it didn't mean that she trusted him. If he came here, he was in her home land. He was at her mercy…she didn't HAVE to be scared of him or what he'd done to her if she didn't want to be, "If I tell him…and we send the paperwork for him to sign his rights away…I don't want him to know about you. Not yet."

"You think it might turn into some sort of territorial dispute?"

"If he wants David then I want him to come down here for David," she said, "Not because he is either jealous or insecure about you."

"As you wish," Jefferson said and then smirked, "It would be worth the look on his face when I'm introduced though. May I punch him in the face to defend your honor?"

"I can't defend my own honor now?" she teased.

"You can, but may I punch him anyway."

"With my parents angry at him too, I think you'll have to get in line," she kissed him; "I love you."

"I love you as well," he wrapped his arms around her and 'accidently fell with her on the couch.

Emma laughed as he kissed her and then kissed her neck. She looked up into his blue eyes and put her hand on his face, "We'll go to my dad tomorrow and see what we can do."

"Okay," he said and then smiled excitedly, "Grace might have herself a brother…"

Emma smiled at his glee and put her forehead against his, "And we'll be a family."

He gave her a sweet kiss. Emma returned it and after a moment, they stared at each other and gave the other a deeper kiss. She felt his hand grip her thigh…oh God, it was tempting. David knew not to leave the yard…they could sneak up to their bedroom and…

"Mom! Dad!"

Jefferson practically leapt off Emma and she sat up quickly too. David stared at them both curiously and tilted his head, "What were you two doing?"

"Just…," Jefferson cleared his throat, "We were about to give special hugs that…only adults can give each other."

Emma blushed, put her hands in front of her face and buried her face in his shoulder, "Honey!"

"I'm bored," David said, "Come be with me!"

Jefferson shrugged, "Alright"

"I do remember that he was supposed to be grounded today," Emma said as he helped her up.

"Oh Emma, you try entertaining a bored child."

"I did," she reminded him, "For five years."

Jefferson looked like he'd been caught and he looked around and cleared his throat, "Well I'm out of practice!"

**A/N: So what do you all think? What will Neal do? **


	84. Chapter 84

** A/N: If you are not caught up on season 2 as of Manhattan (Episode 14) and are trying to remain spoiler free, I suggest you skip this chapter. **

Neal sat on the edge of the couch with his hands folded in front of him. The letter lay open in front of him. He knew it by heart. He knew every…dot and curve of Emma's handwriting. The paper was torn in the creases because the past week he had read it so many times.

He had a son.

His name was David and he was five years old.

And he was in Storybrooke. With Emma.

And the curse.

And Rumpelstiltskin…he was trapped in a town with his father. A father that would use the boy and abuse him if he knew that connection between him and Neal.

What would he do to Emma if he knew the truth? Was she safe there? Was his father leaving her alone?

No, his father had created this curse to find him. He would know that Emma was designed to break it. It was the only reason she was in Storybrooke. He probably found some family for her to be raised by where he could keep her safe and keep an eye on her.

He should've been gone by now. He should've gone to find this…Storybrooke but it wasn't on any map he could find. He knew, he had about eight different maps of Maine and there was nothing to indicate that this Storybrooke even existed.

To the outside world at least. Which probably meant that he couldn't get in either.

No, he would find out where it was and he'd get in and he'd get Emma and David out. If she didn't know who she was supposed to be yet, then he'd explain it to her. He didn't even know if she was aware that she was the savior…or that she was important on the scale that she was. He'd spent months with her and she didn't ever indicate that she was aware of what was going on.

Of course…she never talked about her past. She shut down when confronted about it like he did. Maybe she did know…and she was trying to keep him safe and keep him out of it.

Maybe she was trying to run from Rumpelstiltskin. Like he had been for centuries.

Well it didn't matter. He was going to get her out of there and he was going to get his son. He didn't expect reconciliation. In fact, he knew what he and August did to her was beyond redemption…but for David he needed to do this. He had let her go because she was destined to break the curse but now that their son was in the mix, he wasn't just going to sit by and watch her life and that of their son's get ruined because they got caught in the crossfire of something that was between Rumpelstiltskin and him.

Or maybe he didn't have to pull Emma away from her friends to save her. Maybe he could go and make amends with his father…

…but his father had spent the last several centuries ruining countless lives to get at him. Why would he suddenly change? He didn't the first time and he spent years relying on magic. The moment he had it back (and Neal knew he would find a way), then it would happen all over again.

And who would get hurt that time? Emma? David? Emma's real parents? And for what? Probably something petty.

But could he leave everyone cursed just to save two people from his father?

Why should someone that Neal loved have an entire world rely on her just because of who she was born as?

And what if she didn't want to come? She had no reason to trust him. She had no reason to like him. He could apologize all he wanted but he could never redeem himself for what he did to her. In some ways, he was no better to the ones he supposedly loved than his father was to him.

And Neal could say that he did it for all the right reasons. He could say he abandoned her so that she could break the curse…so that she could be a hero and he could say that he'd wait for her when it was over.

To do what? Pick up the broken pieces of whatever his father had planned for her? No, he didn't do it for noble intentions. He did it because he was terrified of his father and no good intentions would ever excuse what he did as noble.

What kind of life would it be for David out here anyway? Neal could only provide for himself, how was he supposed to provide for a kid? And it wasn't like Emma could take a high paying job when she had dropped out of high school and more than likely didn't pursue college.

He picked up the envelope and stared at the name. She didn't give away her true name. She still called herself _Emma Swan. _

There that wall was. That wall that both had put up that was always there no matter how much they loved each other. Ironic if she knew about the Enchanted Forest….they would have been keeping the other in the dark to protect them when they were both natives there this entire time.

Figures he would come to love someone from over there.

So…what was this? Was this fate? Destiny? His father had always told him that there were no coincidences. Everything that happened, happened by design, and there was nothing they could do about it. Forces greater than them conspired to make it happen.

Neal could believe it. Even without everything he'd been through…everything he'd seen…the chances of him happening to father a child with the girl that Rumpelstiltskin had chosen for a savior to find him were much higher if it was no accident.

So what did that mean for them then? For Emma and him and David?

Could Neal even BE a father to this boy? He had five years to catch up on. There was a lot of bonding time that was missed. And what if Emma had found someone else to fill in the slot that was better than him? After all, it wasn't like Neal had many decent father figures to learn from.

And he wasn't exactly breaking the cycle of cowardice when it came to himself, his father, and his grandfather. What if by going there, he just hurt David?

No, it was a bigger cowardice to not even try rather than to try and fail.

He jumped as someone knocked on the door and he stood. Thank God, it'd only taken a week for him to get there.

And August didn't look pleased to be there, "Do you know how many time zones I passed to get to you?"

Neal grabbed to handfuls of the man's jacket and pulled him into the room. August Booth was a bit taller than he was but he was taken by surprise. The momentum made him crash into the table. Neal slammed the door and turned to him, "You told me that you would be there for her if I wasn't."

"She crossed into a town that I can't get into," August said, "The minute she got out, she took off towards home."

Oh he doubted she drove all that way and didn't stop, "You told me that I had to steer clear of her. You wouldn't give me the name of the prison she was in because she had to break this curse without any distractions! You told me to stay away because she had to do what she had to do!"

"And was I wrong?" August asked with an eyebrow raised.

Neal grabbed the letter angrily and shoved it against his chest, "She was pregnant!"

August paled a bit, "What?"

He grabbed the letter and scanned it.

"You would've known that if you had at least talked to her while she was in the prison," Neal said trying to contain his anger, "You could've explained who we were and why we did what we did because you wouldn't tell me where she was!"

_Do you know how many time zones I passed to get to you?_

Neal stopped when he remembered those first words, "Did you even let her have that money."

August stared at him, "I had to get her home"

The punch came so fast that Neal didn't know what happened until August was sprawled on the floor and his fist hurt.

August looked up, "I admit I deserved that."

"She gave birth to my son and I wasn't there," he practically screamed, "She took the fall for my crime and now she's telling me that I have a son and she's asking me to sign my rights away because of what I did! Because what _you _told me was best for all of us!"

August didn't blink, "Well, you're going to sign it, aren't you?"

Neal looked over to the papers that were on the lampstand. This world had its perks…the lack of magic being one of them but he didn't understand how a man could give everything about his child away by signing his name.

Neal looked back at him, "No."

"You'll just be providing her with more distractions."

"I don't care," he hissed, "I trusted you to keep her safe because you told me that it would be better that way and you _ruined _it. Chances are that if we stayed together, she still would've found a way to break the curse, wouldn't' she?"

"I don't know," August worked his jaw a bit, "But would you be willing to risk the lives and happiness of thousands of people just so you could have yours?"

"For Emma and my son? Yes."

"And rob her of the chance to get to know her parents? Or her true friends?"

"Well if she won't leave with me, then I'll stay," he snapped and tried to quell his fear of his own father. Emma and David wouldn't be safe with him using them, he told himself. He had to stop it before it started.

"You don't want to do that."

"Tell me, how this cloaking spell works. Is it one of those that people can only get through if someone on the inside wants them there? Is that how the food is replenished and the mail is delivered and how Emma and David and their social workers got in?"

"I don't know," August asked, "Why? What are you going to do?"

He didn't answer.

He was going to write Emma. He was going to explain everything to her. He was going to grovel as best as he humanly could so that she would at least agree to a meeting with he…and he could get into the town.

Neal was going to ask to be a part of David's life. He wasn't going to demand it. After what he did and what he sent her back to…he didn't deserve to make any demands from _her. _He would tell her that he understood if she didn't want to see him again but he would ask that she not deny him his son. He could change…he could be better than he was for Emma.

He could be the man that he had once expected to be.

"I'll tell you what I'm not going to do," Neal said and shook his head, "And that's not to sign that paper."

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August had to assume that something like this would happen. He knew that Baelfire had uneasy feelings about what they did…and if he had the opportunity he would return to Emma's side as soon as he knew where she was.

He was still a boy in love. There were lives on the line here. Actual lives. What August did may not have been in the best for all interested parties at a glance, but it was for the greater good. He was being a hero. He was helping to save thousands. He was atoning for leaving Emma when he was just six years old

But Baelfire MIGHT be right about the curse breaking no matter what.

Might be.

Frankly, August wasn't willing to risk the consciousness of his father and that of his friends on possibilities. Baelfire would ruin everything, which would be ironic since the curse was created to get to him.

Baelfire couldn't take Emma away from Storybrooke…and if he stayed then he would distract her from what needed doing. Emma already had one distraction now…she already had one weakness…she couldn't afford two.

And so August stayed hidden that night. He watched from a distance as Baelfire put an envelope in the mailbox and put a small grocery bag full of papers in the dumpster.

August waited until he was asleep before he got near the dumpster in case it was a trap. The papers signing away his rights were in there, he'd been right.

He also removed the envelope from the mail slot. He'd nearly broken his fingers and gotten his hand stuck getting it out.

Emma couldn't be with Baelfire until this was over. They'd thank him for it. Rumpelstiltskin couldn't use her against him and Regina couldn't use him against her.

And it wasn't like Emma would find someone else. No one with the exception of Rumpelstiltskin knew who they were and if she knew that then she wouldn't touch any of them.

He studied the envelope.

It shouldn't be too hard to forge his handwriting.

It would be fine. After all, they might not recognize Baelfire 'signing his rights away' when they got back home. They needed to be apart for now…Baelfire would think that she rejected him and if he couldn't find Storybrooke then he couldn't get to her and Emma would think he abandoned their son. It would be a stinging blow but she couldn't afford to put any more targets on those she cared about.

Besides, when it was done, he would admit what he did and it wouldn't hold up. He would send a postcard to Neal. He would keep this one promise that he made to him.

Because deep down August knew, he'd probably never be brave enough to face him again.


	85. Chapter 85

Now that David was five and was going to be six in a few months, Emma decided it was past time he learned to swordfight.

They took David out to cabin that weekend like they always did. It was autumn. Emma was twenty four now (23 was an incredibly busy year, she would be happy if she had a peaceful year this time)

It was cool outside and before they even started, Emma's cheeks were already red. She held her son's arms steady as she instructed him on the basics for holding a sword properly. David squirmed eagerly as she tried to teach him how to do this responsibly but she knew it was most likely falling on deaf ears. He wanted to swing the wooden weapon his father had made for him already. Jefferson had painted the handle red and carved David's name in it and it made it more personal for David. He'd been talking all week about getting to the cabin to practice.

But Emma was a bit worried about his childish recklessness. Emma had playfully wrestled with David when he grew up and now he liked wrestling with his classmates when they played. Hardly a day passed without him running home with his eyes bright (school was better for him after he stood up for that kid), and dirt and grass stains all over his clothes.

If he applied what they taught him today, then someone might get hurt when they played. Emma was going to stop that before it happened.

"David," Emma grabbed her son and forced him to look at her, "If you use what we're teaching you today with anyone else in school then I will flay your little princeling butt, do you understand?"

David stared at her, "What does 'flay' mean?"

Oh, his questions. "Something that's not good."

It was a threat that her father used to give her when she misbehaved but it was mostly talk. When she was a baby, he'd slap her hands lightly…or so she was told. When she got a bit older he maybe popped her on the backside about twice when she shouldn't listen to him. But usually he just thumped her on the head. When she got old enough to get more of a grasp on wrong from right, he just resorted to threats of what he would do. And while most of those threats were completely outlandish, she didn't know that at the time. Her father carried an air of menace even to her when she did something wrong.

And David stared at her with wide eyes.

"Do you understand what I'm telling you?" Emma told him.

"Yes ma'am," he replied.

Jefferson smirked from his position on the porch. He shot her his little infamous 'you're turning into your father' smirk that he always shot her when it came to some of her mothering choices. He tipped his water to her and watched with amusement as Emma took a defensive position and told David how to take an offensive position.

"Come on," Emma told him, "Let's see what you got."

David lifted up the sword and swung blindly. Emma easily blocked it. David's eyes widened and he tried a few more wide swings. Emma patiently blocked his moves and humored him for about ten minutes. She wanted to sort of teach him to improve but there was something about the way his eyes lit up as they practiced that made her decide that today they would get in the swing of things. He was excited and she didn't want to turn it into a chore for him this early into his training.

A half hour into the training, David started getting tired. Emma let him go sit on the porch next to Jefferson.

David clutched the sword close to his chest and looked at Jefferson, "How old do you have to be to be a knight?"

Jefferson tried to remember, "I think…fifteen. Maybe fourteen."

"Will I get a real sword then?"

"If you're good enough with a wooden one," Jefferson said and ruffled the boy's hair, "You still got a lot of practice to put in though. But in time, you'll learn."

David stared at both of them, "Can you two fight and show me?"

Emma looked up to her husband. Jefferson looked a bit reluctant until David turned around and gave him the puppy eyes.

"I don't…want to hurt your mother."

"You won't," Emma teased and kissed her son's head to get his attention, "Jefferson used to fight with me a lot more before we got married."

"It's weird fighting your wife," Jefferson muttered. He felt so awkward physically trying to hit her or sword fighting with her when they practiced sparring. He was terrified of hurting her even now that they were together. Once when she was younger, Emma got her rib broken and Jefferson STILL felt guilty for what he did to her. They wrestled a little bit now but…now Emma didn't need it as an excuse to come up to see him they pretty much stopped.

Emma stood, "You don't have to worry about hitting me."

Jefferson raised his eyebrow at her challenge. David looked at his father and gave him the puppy eyes.

Emma smirked, "How else will he learn and I practice?"

Jefferson pouted, "If I hurt you, I'm not letting you live it down."

"Oh, you won't hit me," she taunted and took an offensive position. Jefferson took David's sword and got in a defensive position.

David leaned forward, eager to watch his parents spar. He'd seen it before of course but this was different. Now he was watching them a lot more careful so that he could learn.

Emma faked a swing, so that his guard could get up. When he lifted his sword, Emma tried to jab him in the ribs. He jerked his body backwards and lunged. He and Emma circled each other. Both stared at the other's arms and leg and eyes…trying to determine the other's moves.

Jefferson and Emma struck and parried. Once Jefferson brought his sword down so hard that her arms vibrated when she blocked it.

That was the advantage Jefferson needed. He wrapped his arms around her body, lifted her up, and slammed her against the ground. Immediately Emma slammed her forehead against his nose, grabbed him by the back of his hair, twisted his wrist, gripped his thighs with her knees and flipped them over. Jefferson grunted and gave a smirk that showed both an approval and a hidden desire.

A small force rammed her side. Emma was completely taken by surprise from her son's surprise attack. She tumbled off Jefferson and wrapped her arms around her son's neck body and pulled him to a wrestling hold and hug, "Oh no! It's a double attack!"

"Oh," Jefferson piled onto both of them but he kept his weight off so he didn't crush them, "Dog pile mom!"

"No, I'll have to resort to horrible means," she wrapped her arm around her son and kissed his cheek. David immediately jerked and made a sour face, "Mom!"

"It's effective!" she kissed his other cheek and watched him rub at his face in childish disgust, "I think you're losing your ally, honey."

Emma tried to sit up and David wrapped his arms around her neck and pushed her back down. Jefferson grabbed her sides and she jerked and squealed as he tickled her.

David looked up towards the driveway and his gaze immediately brightened, "Grandpa's here!"

Emma and Jefferson both turned towards the driveway where Rumpelstiltskin was watching with the closest thing to a relaxed smile that Emma had ever seen him have. His eyes were relaxed as he watched his daughter play with her family.

"Dad," Emma brushed the grass and dirt from her jeans, "Hi, hey, how long have you been standing there?"

"Oh not long," he gave her an easy smile and braced himself as David wrapped his arms around his grandpa, careful not to jar his bad leg.

"Hi grandpa!"

"Hi David," Rumpelstiltskin embraced the boy tightly; "I've missed you."

"Grandpa, we see each other every day!" David reminded him, "After school!"

Rumpelstiltskin gave a small 'ah' and shrugged, "Of course."

"Hi dad," Emma kissed her father on the cheek and he returned it. She gave him a gentle embrace and pulled away, "Would you like some tea?"

"Can grandpa spend the weekend with us?" David asked.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled at the boy's enthusiasm, "I'm sorry but I'm here for adult business, David."

Emma's smile fell when she saw the legal envelope in his hand.

"David," she put her hand on his shoulders, "Why don't you…why don't you go practice your sword fighting a little bit? We have some adult things to talk about for a few minutes."

David looked curious but he studied the adult faces and realized he wasn't getting in on this, "Okay mom."

Emma was the last to go into the cabin, "And David, stay in the yard or I'll hang you upside down from the clock tower."

Her father gave her a weird look, "Was that one of mine?"

"Emma's still working on the creative side of things," Jefferson said and sat next to his wife who sat next to her father on the couch. Automatically his hands found hers as her dad handed them the legal envelope.

Emma's hands were shaking as she opened the flap. It was a good sign that it was heavy…and it came in this envelope so it wasn't just some sort of letter presumably…

And it also didn't come with an abandoned lover attached to it so that was a really good sign.

But as soon as the paper was free, Emma nearly dropped most of them in her attempt to get to the page with the signatures.

_Neal Cassidy_

She let out a breath of air and stared at the two names…

It was s his handwriting all right.

She was only faintly aware of her husband wrapping his arms around her in a tight grip. She felt his lips touch hers and she just barely returned it.

"Should we tell David?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"Yeah," Emma said and just stared at the paper. How could she ever love this man? How could he want to abandon his son like this without even wanting to come up here and see him? Emma had once considered giving him away and she regretted even thinking that every time she was reminded of it. She would've always wondered what he looked like, what he was like and whether or not he was happy. And here Neal was…just…signing a dotted line so he didn't have to take that responsibility and it made her sick to her stomach.

But then again, why should she be surprised? He abandoned her and he had professed to love her. Why should he care about a son he never even met?

Emma hated him. What was she thinking when she let herself trust him?

Childish rebellion; Neal was exactly the kind of man that her father warned her about and guess who she thought she fell in love with?

Emma kicked herself every day that she trusted him as much as she did. The only thing she didn't regret about that relationship was David.

"Emma?" her father asked.

Emma gave her father a small smile, "I'm okay. I'm happy he signed and didn't cause trouble but….I just….I sort of wish Neal had fought for him a little bit. David's a good kid and Neal's missing out and there's a big part of me that is pissed at him because he's missing it. And it's selfish but I wanted a bit of closure too."

"Well he'll have a better father now," Rumpelstiltskin said, "And you'll have a far better partner than what Neal was so I think you got the better deal."

Emma smiled. She wasn't going to let Neal ruin this occasion for them because he didn't even want to make the attempt.

David raced in and Jefferson closed the door behind him.

Emma smiled at her son as he came forward and she moved him to sit on the coffee table. Rumpelstiltskin immediately scowled because there were other chairs in the room but those would take work to move and Emma wanted to get this out. Jefferson sat next to her.

Emma looked at her father and her husband for support and grabbed her son's hands, "David…a couple of months ago…Jefferson and I were talking about him adopting you."

David's eyes widened in joy and then he looked confused, "But I thought he did."

"No David…according the laws…he just married me but he has to fill out…paperwork to officially become your father."

David tilted his head, "What does officially mean?"

"It means I want to be your dad for real," Jefferson said, "In the eyes of the law and everyone."

"But I thought we were keeping this a secret," David said.

"We are," Emma said, "But one day people will know but that's not the point…Jefferson wants to be your dad…in every way he possibly can."

David looked at Jefferson with a sweet smile, "Will you really be my dad?"

"Yes," Jefferson promised him.

David wrapped his arms around Jefferson's neck and David pulled him closer.

"I'd be happy to call you my son," Jefferson whispered and kissed his cheek.

Emma looked at her dad, "How long will it take?"

"I'll have things set up immediately."

Emma looked at the car outside and then at him, "You know dad, why don't you stay for the weekend first?"

Rumpelstiltskin looked a bit uncomfortable, like he did when he was intruding on their family events, "I don't think that…"

"Come on," Emma said, "It'd be great company…you all could go fishing."

She wanted to make him feel included. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel isolated since she'd gotten married and left the house.

"Besides," Jefferson smirked, "Someone has to cheer for her when we double team."

David looked proud of that as well.

It was at the sight of his grandson that Rumpelstiltskin relented, "Very well, but just this once."

But they knew that it wouldn't only be a one-time visit.

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"What will it mean now that papa's adopting me?" David asked as Emma helped him into bed that night, "How is it different?"

"Well," Emma pulled the comforter over him, "You'll have his last name…and he'll get to make more choices when it comes to you in the eyes of the law and….if something happens to me…then he gets to raise you."

David stared up at her, "What if my dad comes back and he wants me?"

"Well," Emma didn't want to go into him signing his rights away because she knew that he would take that as Neal abandoning him, "We would go to court…but I don't think you have to worry about that, David. I don't think he'll come back."

"What was he like?"

Emma stopped and looked down at her boy and his wide inquisitive eyes. Was this how her dad felt when she asked about her real parents? Because it felt like she was gutted and vulnerable and exposed. There was a small part of her that was glad Jefferson had already kissed him goodnight and gone to bed because she did want to talk to her son about this alone but now that it happened she almost chickened out.

"Your father was…very…unlike any man I ever met," she started. _For better or worse_, "When he smiled…there was a light to him that I'd never seen before and the way that he looked at me was unlike the way that anyone had ever looked at me at that time in my life. I was special to him but in a different way that I was special to everyone else. And he saw that and he liked…to live from one moment to the next. Everything was like an adventure to him; from where we would take a bath to where we would eat or sleep."

David's eyes brightened a bit as she talked, "So he wasn't all bad?"

"No David," she said, and she wondered if she was lying or not. She didn't even know, "He wasn't all bad."

"Why didn't he want us?"

A couple of months ago, Emma could tell him that he didn't know about the pregnancy but now she could hardly do that without feeling like she was lying.

And then something occurred to her. Maybe he didn't abandon them because he didn't want to deal with them, maybe he signed that paper because he truly thought he wasn't worth the paper the termination of his rights were written on. Maybe it wasn't a matter of Neal not wanting to face his sins but being too ashamed to look her in the face because he didn't think he was worth coming here to face the woman he hurt in an attempt to make amends and be this amazing kid's dad.

Or maybe Neal was a coward and she was giving him too much credit.

"David," Emma started, "I'm going to tell you something that your grandpa told me when I was asking about who my parents were. He told me that… sometimes bad things happen and to keep the ones that a person loves safe, they have to let them go. And I think that's what your real dad did for you. It's what my real mom and dad did for me and it's what your dad did for you."

God willing.

That answer seemed to satisfy David and he sat up and kissed her cheek. Emma kissed him back and held him in a suffocating embrace and tucked him back in. Fighting and scheming and doing 'man things' as her son liked to call it was his and Jefferson's thing but he still liked to wrestle and be tucked in by her.

One day he would be too big for it and that would break her heart.

"Get some sleep;" Emma told him, "You gotta get up a bit earlier tomorrow if you want to go fishing with your dad and granddad. You got the biggest job you know! You gotta keep them both behaved."

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Emma knew her husband was awake as soon as she slipped into the room. It was dark but she could feel the excitement practically radiating off him.

"You better get some sleep," she told him as she changed in the dark, "Morning's going to come really early for you."

"Hm," he mused.

Emma felt around the desk, "Honey, have you seen my shirt?"

"No," he muttered, "But why don't you come to bed and I'll give you a reason to have it off."

She rolled her eyes and felt a discarded undershirt of his on the floor and pulled it on, "After that double team this afternoon, do you think you're getting any favors?"

"Hey, you suggested we show David what we're made of when it comes to fighting."

Emma crawled into bed with a sigh, yep; she was going to be feeling that workout in the morning.

"He get to bed okay?" Jefferson asked.

"Yeah," Emma said, "I think he's about as excited as you are."

"And how do you feel?" His arm snaked around her waist.

Emma rubbed his arm and looked at him, "It just…thinking about Neal awakens a lot of feelings that I thought I was working through and discovered I hadn't yet."

"Building trust takes time," Jefferson said, "Trust me, I know. IT was hard to trust anyone after I lost my wife and what Regina did to me and Grace."

Emma looked over at him and rested her forehead on his. They lay there like that for a few minutes just…leaning on the other's strength before Jefferson spoke first, "Would you consider adopting Grace?"

"Maybe," Emma said, "But I want to see how the relationship between she and I go and the one with her adopted family goes before I make any decisions."

"That's understandable."

Emma wrapped her arms around her husband, "David was asking about Neal a few minutes ago."

"And how'd you take that?"

"I told him…some of the good things that I liked about his dad and I told him that sometimes…people let us go because they love us…and I don't know if it was the right thing to tell him or not because I know it probably isn't the truth. I realize that speech was just me hoping Neal's abandonment of me might've had some sort of sacrifice that showed he loved me….but I know it didn't. And I don't know which hurts worse; the hope or the reality."

Jefferson wrapped his arms around her and drew her closer. She was still very hurt and angry at Neal. He knew Emma still had nightmares about her time spent out there…he could feel her in the night thrashing around at some unseen enemy or shivering from a chill that wasn't even in the room…or sobbing at whatever terror she had felt at any time of her life.

And so while he didn't push her to talk about the nightmares with him, he did hold her throughout the night.

It was the only thing that made her feel safe.

And judging by the small sobs that she was giving now, he'd be resuming that duty tonight.

Tomorrow would be a time for celebration…Jefferson was becoming an official father and he knew that his wife was beyond thrilled that this happened…but for now Emma needed to lean on him to work through the fact that Neal didn't even want to try and fight for his son and he didn't even have the spine to come here and face what he put her through.


	86. Chapter 86

It had been a week of nonstop rain and this is the first time that the sun had peeked out. Jefferson and David were on their weekend vacation and Emma had spent the weekend with her father. Her father would've probably gone as well but the rain had been hard and it was difficult for him to get around in weather like this. The weather affected his knee and the ground was too soft. Once he had fallen and twisted his knee when he was out there with them, it still pained him occasionally. Emma hated seeing her dad in that much pain, it always seemed like that leg took a beating.

The sun was out and Emma and her father took a walk. Both enjoyed the warming temperature outside and the smell of the nearby woods was always welcoming. Rumpelstiltskin said it smelled like home. Emma breathed the scent in in an attempt to feel close to what their home was supposed to be.

But she only envisioned Storybrooke when she thought of home. Emma wondered if that would be a problem when they all finally returned to where they were supposed to be.

"One more year," Rumpelstiltskin said as they walked down the main street.

"One more year," Emma agreed. Her hands rested in the crook of her father's arms as they surveyed their little kingdom.

"Gods, the time has flown," Rumpelstiltskin muttered.

"Well," Emma pulled closer, "I'm sure after 300 years, 28 more seem like nothing."

"Actually, in some ways it was the longest 28 years of my life," he muttered, "Or will be after next year."

Emma looked at her father, "We don't…go back after the curse is broken and everyone wakes up, right?"

"No," he confirmed, "We won't. Not until Bae is found and you let the magic back into Storybrooke."

Emma was quiet at that. The last she'd checked, that magic was still in the storage unit away from town where her father and Regina couldn't touch it. If it wasn't for Grace, then she'd have far more reservations about letting it back into the hands of her father and Regina…even after everyone woke up.

"What if-," Emma started, "What if we all stayed here?"

"No one would agree to that," Rumpelstiltskin told her.

"But what if they did? I mean, we can have our families here…our ruling class if we wanted to…and we'd have heat and air conditioning and….indoor plumbing. Medicine and enough food…."

"Because it's not home," Rumpelstiltskin said simply.

"We could make this our home," she offered.

"What happened to your idea that you'd be happy with Jefferson and David and Grace and your next umpteen kids in a cabin in the woods away from everyone?"

"I'd still be happy," Emma said and she meant it, "But some nights as I'm lying in the bed that I've grown comfortable in for almost four years, I sometimes wonder if this place is honestly all that bad."

"Emma, for them it would be. None of them asked to be here," he told her, "And the only thing they'll see when they look at this place is that Regina ripped their lives apart and forced them here in a life of ignorance and contentment because she wanted her happy ending that she was never fully satisfied with and I wanted to find my son. Sure they'll be happy but the only thing they'll see was the quarter of a century they had to be without their loved ones and it was this town that they suffered in. Luckily, part of the curse enabled these people to have knowledge in how to build heating and air conditioning and we won't have to do without indoor plumbing….if I have magic, that's the first thing I'm installing in the castle."

Despite the serious conversation, Emma smiled, "I guess you're right but there's a part of me that will miss this place."

"Have you talked to Jefferson about the possibility of staying?"

"Once," Emma said, "We had a fight."

Rumpelstiltskin smiled wryly, "Clever man."

"He thinks so," Emma said, "But I can understand him. He spent two decades watching his daughter and she never knew him until she woke up and even then they couldn't hug and she couldn't say his name…I understand why everyone wants to go back."

"But-," he started and he knew where this would end.

"This is the only home I've ever known," she told him, "And as much as Regina tried to muck it up constantly, this place has been good to me."

"Because you don't know better."

"Well, what did the Enchanted Forest give you?" Emma challenged, "That place hasn't exactly been good to you, and you want to call it home."

"It gave me Bae and it gave me you."

"And look how much it took from you too," Emma said.

"The Enchanted Forest took nothing from me," he muttered, "I pushed it all away and you know that."

Emma didn't argue with him. He would blame himself but she knew that several of the things he lost were blatantly taken from him without his control, "Well Storybrooke isn't all bad for you either."

"It isn't," he agreed, "It allowed me to raise you in…a somewhat peaceful environment."

"It allowed you to change too," she noted.

"Well," he looked at her and she saw doubt in his eyes, "We'll see about that. When things start changing, we'll see if I changed or just muzzled myself."

His resignation disturbed Emma, "I hope it's the former."

"Me too," he whispered.

Emma rested her head on his shoulder, "I do think you've changed though."

He was quiet and she imagined what he was thinking. If he hadn't changed for his son, why should he change for her?

They walked quietly for a few moments, before Rumpelstiltskin spoke up, "I was wrong, you know."

"What?" Emma teased gently, "You're admitting you're wrong about something?"

He narrowed his eyes, "Don't think that just because you're an adult doesn't mean I can't turn you over my knee."

Emma smiled good naturedly and waited for him to continue

"You did well in picking your spouse. Jefferson is a good man and proof that men can change. I can't say it enough; it does make me quite thrilled that you've settled into a life that you can be happy with."

Emma took her father's arm and gave it a friendly squeeze, "It's partially thanks to you."

"I did nothing," he told her, "That wouldn't have happened eventually."

"Dad, you talked him down from being righteously angry at me," she said, "You…who would be happy if I stayed with you forever went and talked to Jefferson and you knew where that might lead and you did it anyway. Why? Because you wanted me to be happy and you thought he was best for me. It was very unselfish and unpossessive and I've always been proud of you for doing that. For taking the steps in letting me go so that I could have a family all my own."

"It's not so unselfish," he muttered, "I regret it sometimes."

Emma didn't blink at that, in fact she wasn't even surprised. Instead, she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, "That's normal, dad."

"But that's the problem sometimes," he muttered with a wry smile, "I'm not sure which is normal fatherly behavior and which is…well…my behavior."

"You haven't been all that bad," Emma assured him.

Pain crossed his face, "I could've been better."

"Of course you could have," she assured him, "So could every father in the world out there. Jefferson has only been David's father for a year but there are things he wishes he could've done differently. And there are an abundance of things that he wishes he could've done differently with Grace. Just because you have regrets doesn't make you a bad father."

"Well maybe not to you, but to Bae, it's quite different."

"And you'll atone for that," Emma promised him.

"But what if he doesn't want me?" Rumpelstiltskin asked and she saw real fear.

Emma was quiet. She couldn't comfort him in saying that Bae would want to see him because she honestly didn't know. There was a time in her youth that she would've had nothing to do with her father if she could help it. That was a time long ago and Emma regretted it but both knew Bae had every reason not to want to see his father. Both were quite aware of that.

"I don't know," Emma said, "But maybe…this is a good chance to make sure you have changed. Maybe if you can show him that you're not the same man you were, then he'll forgive you."

"I don't think it'll be that easy," Rumpelstiltskin told her.

"Maybe not," Emma agreed, "But it's a start. A-and if you want…I'll go with you. I'll make sure he knows that you've changed and how you raised me."

"For my own agenda," he muttered.

"Dad, if you were anything like the man you were, I would've turned out a lot different," Emma whispered, "But the main reason I turned out the way I have is because you did your best to make sure I turned out good."

"You turned out to be a good kid because of your biological parents and you're special."

"I'm still human," Emma said, "And I think you know how hard it is every day to be a good person. But I do it because you taught me. Oh sure, Jefferson and Mary Margaret helped, but you were always my main influence and role model. I know you feel guilty about how much you took away from me but…you didn't have to love me like you did and you didn't have to protect me or take me back once I ran off. And I know that you'll claim you did it because I as the savior who could reunite you with Bae…but we both know that you wanted me back because you wanted your daughter home. Not your savior. You've been….way more to me than you had to have been. I'm what I am because of you and…I want to tell Bae that."

Rumpelstiltskin didn't understand it. After everything he had done to her? Everything he had taken from her and she wanted to tell Bae what a good job he'd done just because he loved her and he'd changed from the man that he used to be to the man he was current?

But had he changed? Could he be the father to Bae that Emma thought he was to her?

"You'd do that for me?" he asked.

"Of course," Emma said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "You're my dad and he's my adopted brother and we're family. Why wouldn't I help to bring us all together?"

Emma saw relief fill her father's eyes as she boldly stated that she would support him (Emma saw no reason why, he should know that she would anyway) and he pressed his lips against her cheek and he pulled her into an embrace.

"Thank you," he whispered.

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**One Year Later**

It was Emma's birthday and she couldn't let herself feel glad about it.

She woke up in her husband's arms and stared at the wall until the alarm went off. All her 27th year, she had felt a dread in the back of her mind. The kind of dread that came when one knew that change was inevitable and it would be worse before it got better.

Emma usually slept in on her birthday but she got up early. She didn't want David going to school today. She wanted him with his father.

Regina would know what today was, and there were things that needed doing.

Emma checked on her biological father that morning. He would be waking up soon, if her dad was right. Whether or not he remembered his true self was unknown. She needed to find some way to keep him out of Regina's crosshairs because he was the first person Regina would go after. And why shouldn't she? Emma already had a father; why should she feel close to this one?

But Emma knew and understood that Charming had completely lost out on several things when Snow agreed to let Rumpelstiltskin raise her. And she knew why he was in the coma that he was in. He gave his life trying to save her so that she would have her best chance. Just for that, Emma was taking him under her protection just like she was protecting everyone else.

She had lunch with her father but they didn't speak of it. She saw he was on edge as much as she was.

"The clock hasn't moved," Emma said.

"Indeed not," he muttered.

"I thought it was supposed to move on my birthday."

"Something has to kick start it," Rumpelstiltskin said and put a cupcake in front of her with a candle.

Emma looked up at her father and smiled, "You haven't given me a cupcake since I was seven."

"I didn't feel like baking a whole cake," he told her.

Emma smiled at her father as he lit the candle.

"Happy birthday Emma," he whispered.

Emma stared at the candle, "Everything changes after today."

"Yes little one," her father said quietly and she looked up at him, "Everything does indeed."

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"Mom."

Emma groaned as she was pulled out of her dream about cinnamon rolls at the sound of her son's voice. She drew a breath and opened her eyes slightly to see her son standing by the bed. He had his hand on her wrist. Funny, she didn't feel him tugging…

"Mom, The clock is working."

She rolled on her back and pushed her hair out of her eyes. Jefferson stirred next to her and buried his face in the pillow. Emma was still pulling out of her sleep. She blinked against the light and stared at her son, "What?"

"The town clock is working."

Jefferson lifted his head from the pillow next to his wife, "What are you talking about, buddy?"

"Come on," he whispered and left the room.

Emma stretched her legs and smiled when Jefferson gave her quick kiss on the shoulder, "What's he talking about?"

"I don't know," she said and threw off the covers. Jefferson pulled off his covers and well and grabbed the discarded pants on the floor.

Emma pulled on her robe and followed her son to the living room and looked through the telescope that Jefferson had set up to watch the town.

The clock was working.

Emma drew back and looked at her son's confidant face, "I told you! Time's moving again!"

"How?" Emma whispered and looked back through it.

Jefferson came into the room, Emma moved so that he could look through. He stared at it for a couple of seconds and then looked at her, "The clock's working."

"Yeah," Emma said and put her hands on her son's shoulder, "We saw."

Jefferson looked at her, "It's started."

"But what's different?" she asked and rested a hand on her excited son's hair, "Other than the fact that I'm 28 now, dad said something would kick start time moving again."

Jefferson ran a hand through his hair and then something seemed to dawn on him; he looked down at his stepson and smiled "David, why don't you get dressed? We're all going to town this morning."

"Okay," David said

Jefferson walked up to her, "We did…exchange birthday pleasantries last night."

Emma stared at him and realized what he was implying, "I can't be."

"Perhaps you are," he said simply.

"Our…birthday pleasantries kick started time?"

He smirked, "Told you I'm that good."

"And you think I'm pregnant," she asked dubiously.

"Well, we won't know for a few weeks, but what other explanation do you have?"

Emma ran a hand through her hair, "Alright, the curse is about the break, the final battle will begin and I really can't have a baby right now."

"Maybe the baby will be the key to breaking the curse," he offered.

"I'm the key to breaking the curse," Emma snapped She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt protective over her title as savior. Maybe it was because they were telling her she'd be the savior for so long or maybe she didn't want her baby to be in any sort of danger that she had been in growing up.

"Perhaps the baby will help you along somehow."

"Maybe," she whispered. And a thought hit her. She looked up at her husband in terror, "but if Regina finds out that I'm pregnant then-."

"Emma" he whispered and took her hand. His face shown with unabashed joy, "We're having a baby possibly, let's just be happy with that for a couple of days before we start setting up defenses against Regina."

Emma looked around. Gods, there was so many things to do! It was too early for a pregnancy test…

But she should go down there and talk to her father. If time was moving again then she was going to need him now more than ever. Especially if she was carrying a baby.

"I need to see my parents," Emma muttered.

"I'll drop him off," Jefferson told her. He suspected she'd want to make several stops on her own.

Emma took his hands. He always seemed to understand her relationship with her father without being told anything. He seemed to understand that she'd want to tell her father about this possible pregnancy herself, "Thank you for understanding."

He kissed her, "Be careful."

"I will."

"Once Regina knows time is moving, she'll be on the warpath."

Emma looked over at him as David came down, "Maybe I'll have to move back in with my dad and you'll have to sneak in my room to be with me if she starts to notice I don't go home at night."

He scoffed, "Please, I'm over forty years old woman; my knees can't handle climbing up to your old room."

Emma smiled and kissed her husband, "I'll build you a sheet rope."


	87. Chapter 87

When Rumpelstiltskin heard the chiming of the clock, he thought it was a dream. A drunken induced dream in the middle of the night and right as he awoke, he turned back around and went to sleep.

He knew he would regret drinking well into the night when he woke up. He didn't care at the time though. He hadn't gotten drunk since Emma ran away and he needed the edge off some of his depression. He usually abstained from the stuff; he had a baby girl in the house for a while and then came along David and he still refused to allow it near his child and grandchild. He could never get a taste for the stuff anyway. He must preferred tea, it was far more elegant. Emma adored coffee; he chalked that up to her still being rebellious because that…beverage was most foul.

But this was a special occasion for him; this is where everything changed. Most of it wouldn't be for the better. In a year…Emma might not recognize him as her father anymore. David would be calling someone else 'grandpa' instead of him. Emma might not even have all her family in a year. She might lose Jefferson, or Mary Margaret, or David, or Grace, or him…

This was the year that she really had to start stepping up. This would be the time he really saw just how well he'd taught her. . Rumpelstiltskin made no apologies for the kind of man that he was. He didn't victimize himself. He knew precisely what he was capable of and what he would do if given certain privileges again. But that didn't make him a bad parent. He struggled and fought as hard as he could so that Emma could have a good happy life. And he was certain he achieved a lot of that. He had kept his promise to Snow White-

No, he didn't do it because of Snow White, he did it because he loved his girl and he wanted to see her happy. Him wanting to keep his promise to Snow in Emma growing up safe and protected come to pass but not because of Snow. But because he truly wanted that for Emma.

So, his parenting…whether he was successful or not in raising her to be a force of good would be shown. He knew she would most likely be good, but there were times when she slipped into the manipulative angry nature that she'd observed from him. He didn't want her to slip in the habit of that when the decisions got hard.

There were plenty of things he drank to that night. His daughter's safety, his daughter's family's safety, the very real possibility of her choosing her parents over him, and whether or not he'd done well in the job he was tasked with doing.

Everything changed and the only possibly good thing that would happen from it was getting Bae again and going home.

He supposed he should be thrilled at the idea of Emma meeting her actual parents. After all, Charming did risk his life (Presumably) so that she could live and have her best chance. But Rumpelstiltskin was still selfish. He had warmed up to Emma's marriage to Jefferson over the years because Jefferson quietly understood Rumpelstiltskin's fear of being separated from his daughter and did his best to include Rumpelstiltskin in activities they did as a family. Though it thrilled Emma to no end that they were getting along, Rumpelstiltskin knew he didn't do it for her. He did it because he knew what it was like to be separated from a daughter.

But with Snow and Charming…they didn't trust or like him. And Charming would hate him for raising Emma and taking his place. If Emma found a way to choose them…he would not be included in any decision making processes if Charming had anything to say about it.

He drank a double at that thought and then went to bed.

He wasn't sure which woke him up, the pounding of the door or the pounding of his head.

In fact, he wasn't sure there WAS a pounding of the door…maybe that was his temple beating against his skull….

But being the host that he was, he pulled himself out of bed and limped down the stairs. The cane thumping against the wood did little to ease the headache. He brightened when he saw Emma's blonde hair in the doorway and he opened the door, "I thought you didn't want to knock on the door of the house that everyone still thinks you live in."

Emma wrinkled her nose, "Are you drunk?"

"Was," he muttered and rested his head against the doorway.

"This is why you didn't come over for my birthday," Emma noted.

"I didn't come over for your birthday because I know what you and Jefferson like to do and my room is right next to yours."

Emma blinked and then smiled, "Is this about when I turned 26?"

"Yes," he muttered, "Half the night Emma!"

"Dad, we didn't….do anything as loud as we made it sound. We're never that…rambunctious as you would say. How would our son ever sleep? Jefferson was slamming the headboard against the wall just to mess with you."

"You never told me that!"

"I thought you figured it out!" she snapped.

He heard the chime of a loud clock from the street and winced at the noise…it only took him a second to register that, "The clock works."

"Yeah, that's what I came here to tell you," Emma said, blushing, "David saw that it was working this morning."

"But how? Nothing's changed as far as I can- Ohhhhh," he said it as it dawned on him and he smirked at her stomach

The heat climbed up in Emma's face, "Dad!"

Oh no….after what they did to him on her 26th birthday, he was going to enjoy this! "Emma! Didn't your mother teach you about these things? I left that up to her once your body…started changing so that you could be a woman!"

Emma remembered all too well the awkward talks that came with puberty. Her father tried one…and then he automatically blushed and called Mary Margaret to come in and handle the 'female things' so that he didn't have to.

But for the second…however brief, he was going to tease her, "I refuse to believe that Jefferson has the power to beat birth control, so…"

"Well what's the point? I thought the frozen time and frozen bodies would be the perfect birth control," she muttered.

"But to do that on your 28th birthday! Not smart, Emma."

"I didn't see the need, time hadn't moved yet."

"Did it never occur to you that…the curse might somehow unfreeze Jefferson's body enough to get you pregnant and that would be what started time?"

"No!"

Well, it never occurred to him either.

"Dad," Emma put her hand to her stomach, "This is serious!"

Indeed it was, and now that she recognized that, he dropped the fun and games, "Indeed it is. You're bringing another child into this."

"But if a baby was always destined to be born then I would've gotten pregnant anyway."

Gods, he wished he didn't teach her about destiny, "You could've abstained."

"For how long? A year? I think that if the curse breaking is linked to this baby…if I am pregnant…I would get pregnant eventually."

"The curse would've found another way to start weakening," he muttered.

"No it wouldn't," she muttered.

She was most likely right, but he didn't know that for sure. Well, what was done was done. Now he had another child that he had to protect. He would be overjoyed at the new family member when he was a little more sober.

He couldn't believe he was giving her this talk at 28 YEARS OLD.

Emma brushed her hand against her belly, "Regina will know time is moving."

"She will," he noted.

Emma gave him a terrified look and both hands went to her stomach, "She might figure it out!"

"She might," he noted.

He saw the fear resonate in her daughter's eyes. Regina had gone too far when she did what she did to Grace. She was living on borrowed time after that and since then…they'd settled into an uncomfortable peace. They all knew it could be broken at any time whenever Regina threw her next tantrum but they had four years of her not interfering.

And that was about to change and he knew Emma didn't want to deal with all her drama again. She didn't want to wake up every morning wondering if her family would live through the day.

Especially if a new little one had taken root in her belly.

He reached out and took his child's hands. She clung to him much like she did when she was little.

Her eyes met his, "Dad, I'm going to need you now more than ever."

He nodded, he knew she would but it was still good to hear that she wanted him…_needed _him in her life still. Usually with a family, another one on the way, and everything crashing down on her soon, he would be pushed away. That's what always happened with everyone else but not Emma, never Emma. She always found a way to bring him closer.

It would hurt when she finally pushed him away too.

"I'll be here," he promised, "Fighting for you like I always have."

And he knew that she was aware he would. But he could tell that for her, it was good to hear those words as well.

He smiled, "Would you like to come in?"

"No…I um…the curse is weakening…I have a very busy few days ahead of me."

He didn't feel disappointed, he understood, "Go."

She kissed his cheek, "I love you, dad."

He smiled at her as she turned and jogged down the stairs.

Jogging in her condition!

"Be cautious!" he screamed after her. Emma turned around and smiled back at him.

And for the trouble they all knew was ahead of her, for a second, she looked radiant.

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The clock was working!

Regina didn't know how that spoiled little guttersnipe did it, but she had! The curse was weakening. Time was moving again. Everyone called her up to marvel about the clock working. Some even told her that now that 'old faithful' was ticking, they were starting to feel alive again!

No! Just no! This was supposed to be her happy ending! Emma didn't ruin that just because she existed!

Regina stormed through town. She was careful to avoid the sheriff's station and pawn shop because she could just…feel them smirking. She didn't want to have to endure knowing they could see her being angry.

She couldn't kill Emma….but she could make her life miserable. She could drive her away.

She'd been trying that, and it didn't work.

Well what happened if Regina went and stuck a pillow over Charming's face? Emma had gotten almost three decades to know bits of her mother and her adopted father…she had time to know all these people so what happened if Regina took the only person that Emma had NEVER known?

Regina wouldn't be so stupid as to believe that Emma wouldn't be affected. Regina knew that Emma had asked about her real father when she was little. If Regina took away Charming then she was taking away a piece of Emma and she was ripping away Snow's happiness.

She should've done this years ago. But there had been no need years ago. If Emma hadn't made time move somehow then she wouldn't have to kill him.

So really, it was Emma's fault.

Anyway, she needed to get it done now. Time weakened but Regina still had more than enough pull and control, if anyone saw her murdering him, then she could easily control and deflect their beliefs.

If Emma couldn't be scared away, then Regina would chisel away at her sanity then.

She would take away those that Emma had sworn to protect. When she had taken Graham…it'd broken Emma. Regina had tried to same with Jefferson and Grace but Emma fought against that and it nearly cost Regina her life.

Would Emma stand for lesser people getting hurt?

She was living on borrowed time anyway, what did it hurt if she took the Gold family down with her?

After all, they dared go against her.

The clock chimed later that day and Regina felt her hair stand up.

Borrowed time…

She swept into the hospital and made a beeline for the Charming room. A pillow might be pushing it…what happened if she put a bubble of air into his IV?

Regina focused on the still man in the room and paid no attention to her surroundings. She pulled out the syringe. The only things she could hear was the clicking of her heels and the rushing of blood in her ears as she uncapped the syringe and walked into the room.

"Visiting hours are from ten till two."

Regina froze at the sheriff's voice. She turned around in the room to see Emma sitting in a chair by the wall.

Instead of feeling scared at the intrusion, or angry, she just sneered, "You can't protect all of them forever."

"Probably not," Emma said, "But I'll try…and if anything happens to any of them then I'll take that syringe and shove it in your chest."

Regina blinked at the brutality in Emma's voice. Was she sure that she was honestly Charming's daughter? Her vicious streak was suspiciously similar to Rumpelstiltskin's.

But then again, a girl raised under his roof couldn't be completely good. Regina didn't even LIVE with him and look how she had turned out under his tutelage.

Maybe Regina was going about this all wrong. Maybe she didn't need to drive Emma away or hurt her family…well she could of course…but maybe the secret was corrupting her. It would kill Rumpelstiltskin to know she was exactly like him.

Regina leaned forward, "Not if I get you first."

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Jefferson's hands always sweated when he drove to see Grace without Emma. Usually Grace's adopted parents took her to the station if they needed a small break but there were times when Jefferson came to see them himself.

They had a bit of a friendship. Sometimes one family would invite the other for dinner. Jefferson enjoyed it more than he usually let on. He….liked the couple raising Grace. The way they stepped up to take care of her even though they could've locked her away in the asylum won his respect. He just wished it was him raising his daughter.

They had built such a respect for each other, that Meredith saw no reason not to leave Jefferson alone with Grace as she went inside to make fresh lemonade for him.

They were left quietly on the porch and Jefferson wrung his hands together. He hated doing this by himself sometimes. He was terrified Regina might drive by and see them interacting and she'd know Grace was awake.

She was like this for four years….

He felt the tears come. She never indicated how much she was suffering but he knew she was. The fact that she was so sane now was something he would never understand.

_Papa_

He reached how and grabbed his little girl's wrist. No child should have to endure this, "The clock is working…I know that you've probably heard it. It won't be long now Grace, I promise."

Just another moment without her was too long.

He held his daughter's hand. He knew this next thing might hurt her, but they'd agreed long ago together that they'd be honest, "Emma and I….we might be having a baby."

There was both happiness in sadness in Grace's eyes. Just like when he honestly told her he was adopting David. She was happy for him…happy he was finding peace but there was sadness and fear that she would be replaced.

"Grace," He looked at her, "No matter what happens….no matter how many kids Emma and I have, you're still my daughter and I'm still fighting to get you back. That'll never change. Do you understand me?"

She closed her eyes and opened them once, but he saw the tears.

He wrapped his arms around her and he promised that it would be alright. He held her close and let her cry because he knew that she was a child…and he knew that she had been through too much and he knew this was so unfair to her. He would have a lot of making up to do once he got her healed.

The only thing that made him pull back from embracing his daughter was Meredith coming back out with a couple of glasses of lemonade for him.

And despite his anti-social behavior…he sat there with his daughter and his daughter's adopted mother and they spent the afternoon chatting together. The only thing that interrupted them was the occasional chiming of the clock.

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Emma was not looking forward to the next few days.

When she was old enough, she'd made a list. She'd kept track of everyone's situation in the town and she figured out who she would help first. She used to sit there next to her father making list upon list of the people in the town.

It was no surprise that Ava and Nicholas were the first on her list, better known as Hansel and Gretel. As a child…she would give the twins her lunch. She always packed double. Her father said nothing; he knew what she was doing. Emma also suspected that from that age onward, he would leave food at their doorstep as well. When Emma was older and making her own money, she anonymously paid for the electricity and water and gas to be turned on in the house they were staying at. She stopped by frequently to make sure they were safe.

It was a rough situation but if Emma took them out of that house, then she'd be putting Regina on the scent…and she had a feeling Regina would've found a way to send them to a home out of town…

And Emma knew what would happen if they crossed the line.

Of course she could refuse but then someone else would do it…and that would be three lives ruined and that would be Emma's fault. So she did her best to make their living conditions bearable.

But now, things were changing and they needed their father. Emma had established a good rapport with Michael Tillman. She had made sure to form a bond with him when she needed her car repaired.

They got along well enough and that was an advantage. He would trust her not to lie when she told him something.

It was a day of manipulation for Emma. They didn't know she and her father were paying for them….so it was much easier to catch them in the house. She pretended to be shocked to find them there…and she pretended to be stern with them for being by themselves. She felt her heart soften as they begged her not to separate them.

It was a con and Emma should feel guilty for doing so, but she took them to her mother's. She showed them her baby blanket; it was the only thing she had that truly belonged to her parents. Emma was honestly surprised her father used it as much as he did, given his jealousies. But she remembered sleeping with it around her when she was little. Maybe it was the fact that it was the only thing she had of her parents was why her father let her have it…Emma didn't know.

But she told him how it was the only thing she had….and it was enough to get their trust and give them the compass.

And from there, Emma went home and had lunch. She told them she was going to trace down their parentage, but she already knew who he was. She was just selling the little game.

Jefferson wasn't there…he'd texted her earlier and told her he was going to talk to Grace, so she had the house to herself.

After lunch, she packed them in the car and told them she found their father. She took them to the garage and as sorry as she was to drop that kind of bombshell on him like that…it had to be done.

Her father once told her that the quickest way bonds would be re-established was through sight. The minute they saw them, there would be something formed in their hearts that they couldn't explain and it would be the start of things righting themselves.

So at first when she told him he had two children, he balked. He refused to believe it even though he confirmed the compass was his. But once he got over the shock…once he saw them…she saw something click.

But he refused to take them in. He told her he wasn't a father and so Emma had to go in for the kill. She looked at him earnestly and…it wasn't manipulation; what she said next. It was the truth.

"When I found out, I was pregnant, I wasn't ready to be a mother either," she told him, "I was broke, and in jail and coming back as still unthinkable to me. I couldn't forgive my father for what he put me through. I came…so close time and again to calling the social worker and telling her that I wanted to give David up when he was born but…I never did. I couldn't…live with myself if I never knew what happened to him. And here I am ten years later and…I wouldn't change that decision for anything. David was the best thing to happen to me and if I gave him up…I would regret it forever because I could never take it back. And if you give them away…if you separate them and they lose each other like they lost their mother…then you'll never forgive yourself. I know I wouldn't have."

It was the motivation he needed to go forward and look at his daughter and son. Emma watched as something akin to recognition (but not quite) lit up their eyes as they stared at each other.

And Emma realized this was the first family she had saved without anyone losing anything.

The pride and burden lifted happiness she felt was hard to describe as she came home that night.

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Jefferson had picked up David for her from school. And he was making dinner when she got home. David was bent over his homework. 4th grade meant more work and sometimes he was doing his homework well into dinner time.

Emma took a moment to enjoy looking at her family. For a day with everything changing, they just looked so…_normal_. As if the world wasn't going to come crashing down at any second.

She and Jefferson had been married for four years; soon to be five. And other than the occasional fight, the both of them had settled into the swing of things quite well. There was an…unspoken understanding between the two of them and what they went through together that couldn't be undermined, a trust between the two that could never be broken and Emma was happy she chose him to love.

Her and David's relationship was quite different than it had been four years ago. David was getting to be the age where he relied more on the advice his father gave him rather than his mother. They still loved each other, and he still frequently talked to her but now that he had a father he could talk to, and he was older…Emma could feel him starting to break away. Not in a bad way but in a way that could mean he would be growing up soon.

And it was in those times where she realized he was getting older that Emma understood her father's despair.

David looked up and smiled when he saw her, "Hi mom."

Jefferson looked over his shoulder and smiled, "Hey sweetheart."

She kissed her son's head and embraced him and went to stand by her husband, "How was your day?"

"I talked to Grace," he moved so she could stand in front of him. When she moved in front of him, he wrapped his arms around her and watched as she took over the cooking. Yesterday, for her birthday, he had made her cinnamon pancakes for dinner. Today, he was cooking her salmon, "I told her about…"

"And how did she take it?"

"About as well as you can expect," he rested his hands on her hips, "I just can't wait for this to be over."

Emma understood his despair and his frustration, "When everyone's awake, I'll bring magic back. I promise."

A hand went to her stomach.

Less than a year if the curse was tied to the baby being born…they could do that…

She put her hand over his and she wrapped her arms around his arms when he pulled her closer in the embrace.

"How was your day?" he asked.

She wanted to tell him about Regina…and she wanted to tell him about Ava and Nicholas and Michael and what she'd done for them…but she was tired. She'd tell him when they were in bed tonight. She wanted at least an hour to relax and she didn't have to be the savior for a day.

"Oh, you know….," she rubbed his arms, "Savior stuff."

"Hm," he whispered and pressed his lips gently against his temple.

And Emma leaned against him, feeling safe in his embrace.


	88. Chapter 88

Sometimes Jefferson could deal with Emma's nightmares just fine. He had 24 years of his own nightmares that helped him adjust and learn what he needed to do and four years being married and dealing with Emma's nightmares and he usually had it under control.

He was a light sleeper. The isolation of the house made him feel vulnerable sometimes. Now that he had a wife and son to protect, he would wake up several times at night from the slightest noise.

Or the slightest movement. He always knew when Emma had a nightmare because she jerked awake and gave a quiet gasp. He pretended to be asleep because sometimes Emma pulled away but he knew. He always knew.

But the night after she helped Hansel and Gretel, it was one of her bad nights. Emma woke him up when she cried out. He immediately jerked out of his sleep and looked around the room for any sign of intruder. There wasn't anyone in the room.

Anyway, Emma wouldn't cry out; she would fight off the intruder, slam him in the face with the pillow and yell at him to wake up.

When he saw there was no threat, he turned to his wife. She had kicked off the covers and now she was sobbing in her sleep and kicking at some unseen attacker.

"Emma?" he whispered and grabbed her shoulder gently, "Emma!"

She shoved him backwards and sat up with a start. She was panting and he could see that she was sweating. She scanned the room for any signs of the threat but when there was none, she turned and looked at him, "Jefferson-."

"It's okay," he told her.

"Did i- I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No," he promised her, "You just pushed me a little."

She let out a full breath of air and ran her hands through her hair. Sometimes the bad ones got violent. Once he fell out of bed and cracked his skull. He was fine, just a small concussion but Emma was guilt ridden for days.

He saw her shivering in the moonlight and without a word; he reached over at the foot of the bed and pulled up a folded throw blanket. Emma didn't jerk away when he wrapped it around her. He pulled her into an embrace and they both lay down together. He pulled the main comforter over both of them and rubbed his wife's back and arms. He tried to get some warmth into them but she still shivered.

Emma slipped one of her hands into his and squeezed.

Jefferson didn't fall back asleep until Emma dropped off into an uneasy sleep of her own.

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The book weighed heavily in Emma's arms as she walked to the halls of the hospital.

No Regina. Good. Her husband had told her that the Royal Pain was at her office. Emma honestly didn't want to deal with her getting in the way of her plans.

Because honestly? Emma wasn't in the mood to deal with all this today. She'd barely slept. She was getting sick of these nightmares. Her father told her that these memories made her who she was and she knew he was right. But if he got his magic back, she was only going to ask him to do one thing and that was take the ability to dream away. She had 28 years world of bad dreams and… 'Meh' dreams. She could deal with the next 28 years being a hard dreamless sleep every night.

She found her mother where she expected her to be in the hospital room standing over the John Doe.

Emma's biological father.

Emma smiled at the two of them. She knew it would be awkward when he woke up, and she knew that her not accepting him as her father was going to be painful and dramatic for everyone but she truly wanted him awake. She wanted him and her mom happy. They couldn't find closure with her in their happily ever after, Emma hoped they would find it with the next child.

She knocked on the door frame and smiled at her mother when she turned, "Emma! Good morning!"

Emma smiled broadly at her mother, "Good morning."

The clock chimed outside and they both turned to the window.

"I still can't believe it," Mary Margaret said with a faraway look, "I just can't believe it randomly started moving again. It's so strange…and quite wonderful."

Emma wondered if those that lived close to the clock tower shared that sentiment.

Mary tilted her head, "You don't look like you've slept."

Emma blushed, "Well, the married life…you know."

Mary Margaret blushed brighter than Emma did. Emma knew that when she remembered this conversation when she woke up, her face was going to be redder than this.

Mary looked down at the book in Emma's arms. She smiled tenderly and looked up at her, "That's the book I gave you on your first birthday."

"Yeah," Emma looked down and looked at the man in the bed. The father she never knew, "I just- I just thought that maybe you could read it to him."

"Read a comatose patient…a book of fairy tales?"

"Yeah," Emma struggled for a lie, "I heard…I read somewhere that comatose patients can hear us and…..um…fairy tales might…help him connect to his childhood and sometimes…that's the key to…getting ahold of their memories and…waking them up."

Mary Margaret gave her a confused look, "Oh…'

Emma shrugged, "Well, what could it hurt? You know…you visit him sometimes when you feel bad that he has no one. It won't hurt if you pass some of that time by reading to him."

"I…guess I could," Mary was confused but accepted the book.

Emma shrugged, "Like I said, it was just a study…it probably doesn't mean anything."

Mary Margaret stared at the book like she was almost in a trance, "No…probably not."

Emma turned to leave but then stopped at the door, "One more thing…"

Mary Margaret looked up.

"Try Snow White first."

"Snow White?"

"It's the first movie that most kids see. Maybe it'll help him link to those memories faster."

Mary looked confused, "I'm still not…sure how his childhood will wake him up."

"Me neither," Emma lied, "The study had a lot of medical mumbo jumbo that I could neither pronounce nor understand. See you at dinner, Sunday?"

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Ever since time started moving again, both Emma and Jefferson sent Rumpelstiltskin a barrage of questions. Most of them were about her pregnancy…whether it was true or not, he couldn't say. The curse was weakening, time was moving, magic was unpredictable here and his sixth magic sense was impossible to get control of.

But both Jefferson's and Emma's questions were the same; why didn't time move when she was pregnant with David?

He kept the answer simple. It moved because the curse was destined to weaken and break on her 28th birthday and she got pregnant on Storybrooke soil. Not out there.

However, he suspected the truth might be a bit deeper than that. This baby…if she was truly pregnant, linked her here to Storybrooke. David did not. With David, she could pack up and take outside the town limits. She had done it before; when Graham died. It would be easy for her to leave if she was pushed.

The same with Jefferson; there was Emma's occasional doubt about him either hurting her or leaving her. She never talked about it but he knew she still remembered his attack on her when she was 16 and the way he treated her after he found out the truth about magic and Grace. That combined with Neal and Graham…if he hurt her bad enough (Rumpelstiltskin doubted he would ever harm her intentionally), it would be nothing for Emma to pack up David and leave.

But this baby…it gave her a reason to stay, it gave her a link to Storybrooke. It was Jefferson's child as well as hers. This gave them a bond that she couldn't destroy just by packing up and leaving town when things got too hard.

This curse breaking didn't work unless Emma wanted to be the savior. And he knew that deep down; she was still terrified of it. She still didn't want it. She might have some…inclination because of Snow and Charming. But she couldn't fight for them completely because she still didn't know them. She knew Mary Margaret and John Doe. The only people she had formed an extremely close attachment to were already awake. Emma viewed the town as people to save, not to actually get attached to because she knew that one day, they wouldn't be there.

So was this baby it for her? A way to get her to stay and get her to fight? Because he knew Emma didn't even WANT to return home. To her, Storybrooke was her home

But he knew that Emma did want to help these people. She wanted to help those less fortunate than herself since she was a little girl. So she would help them because she wanted to, not because she had to. But as far as Emma's purpose was? The big picture? She didn't want it. She didn't want to be the savior.

So, was this baby just a means of the curse getting Emma to embrace her destiny? Rumpelstiltskin really didn't think of his curse as a sentient being but…there was really no other way to put it

Did the curse start to weaken ever so slightly when Emma turned 28? And that's how she became pregnant? Gods, he didn't know! He wished he could provide his daughter and son-in-law the answers they looked for but he could not! Everything was speculation. Because up until Snow visited him in the cell all those years ago for help, he hadn't expected Emma to be his!

Bloody foresight! A lot of mistakes would never have been made if it worked in a way that made sense.

It was just…he realized years ago how quickly this curse had spun out of his control once Regina found out Emma's identity but now…he should've done better. He should've taken more precautions to keep Emma safe. And he would have…if he had known he would grow to love her.

But maybe his lack of foresight was destiny. With the mistakes he made, Emma left and came back because of the trouble she landed into. If she had never left, then Jefferson would've never fallen for her as he would still see her as the child that grew up here instead of the woman she came back as and they would've never gotten in the situation they did now.

Or maybe he was overthinking all of this and the only reason time moved was because Emma got pregnant on Storybrooke soil or something.

He didn't know, it honestly gave him a headache.

The bell rang while he had taken some things down for dusting (The curse was breaking, time for better upkeep) and he smiled when he saw his daughter, "Need my help, already? Or are you coming to make good on that lunch you owe me?"

Emma was pale. His eyes went down to her stomach but there was no bump. Of course there wouldn't be. He was the exhaustion in her eyes; she just had a rough night.

"Dad," she shoved her hands in her pockets, "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"Ashl-," Emma stopped and corrected herself, "I just got back from the diner and Ella was there."

"Indeed?" he asked and he had a feeling he knew where this was going to go.

"Dad, she's in labor."

"Well," he sat down and picked up his magnifying glass, "What wonderful news."

"I want…I want to ask you to make her contract null and void. The one you have with her and the baby."

"And why should I do that?" he asked without looking up.

"Why should you keep it?"

"Because we made a deal."

Emma rolled her eyes, "Dad, you only made that deal so you could get caught and be in a position where my parents weren't afraid to approach you."

"Does that take away from the signed contract in any way?"

Emma sighed, "And what are you going to do with this baby?"

"Well, the town will be waking up soon. Children will be in demand again. I could make a few trades. Give that child a better home than a scullery maid turned imposter and her Neanderthal husband can provide."

"Does that give you the right to take their baby?"

"A deal is a deal," he told her.

"But you're not that man anymore," Emma reminded him, "Maybe it's time you stop telling me that, and start showing me that you've changed."

Rumpelstiltskin looked up, "Well…you certainly know how to get to the point, don't you?"

"Sometimes all a parent can give is themselves."

"They're not mature enough to raise a child."

"They'll learn," Emma told him, "I did. You helped teach me."

"When Ella was pregnant and I told her what I required, all she was worried about was losing her status and going back to what she was. Her baby was hardly on her mind."

"Maturity comes with age," Emma told him, "And added responsibility. I could hardly say I was mother material when I was pregnant. I was bitter and too prideful to even call my father and admit I needed help. I would like to hope I'd grown up since then. Maybe one day they'll grow up too."

"Some people shouldn't be parents."

"True," Emma said, "But stupidity is not a reason to not be a parent. Please dad, you told me that there are times that you regret taking me from my parents like you did…don't make the same mistake again."

It suddenly wasn't so funny when Emma was using her savior status against him.

He measured his options. It would ruin his reputation if he let this girl and her husband out of their contract, but what good was the reputation when he said that he wanted to change? Did he want to go back to what he was? Did he want to break his daughter's heart and lose the chance to atone for his sins with his son? Why did it mean so much to keep the old reputation of what he was? To keep the old deals?

Emma was staring at him with those big begging green eyes and he wanted to tell her that he could change. He wanted to prove it now that it meant something. He wanted to bring peace and safety to Emma's future and that of the children but he knew he couldn't do that if he stuck to his old ways.

It would just be a lot easier.

So did he dwell on his past or did he participate in his children and grandchildren's future?

Well, now that he thought of it like that…

"I'll think about it," he told her, but he might as well have told her yes.

Emma's gaze softened and she smiled at him. It almost reminded him of the way she smiled at him when she was a child, "Thank you, daddy."

"You're too old to call me '_daddy'," _he scolded, but he didn't mind.

She kissed his forehead and he gently grabbed her hand.

"Go out there," He told her, 'Save the world."

Emma smiled again and then her smile faltered, "Dad...I want you to know that there's something I did earlier today."

She wouldn't look at him and that worried him, "What did you do?"

She managed to look at him, "It's about Prince Charming…."

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Mary Margaret didn't understand half of the things Emma and her father did. Most of the time she wrote it off as the 'Gold eccentricities' but this one was really odd.

Read a comatose patient a book of fairy tales. Emma asked her to read him a book of…

Oh, it was so weird and she didn't know why she was doing it but…she had rarely been able to ever refuse Emma anything. It was…odd. She could never understand the bond she had with Emma. Maybe it was because the poor girl had no one but her dad for the longest time. Try as they might, there were things neither understood about the other.

So she sat on his bedside with this large book in her lap…reading to him. Why? Because her daughter figure asked her to.

She really shouldn't be here. She should be grading papers.

And this story was NOTHING like the Snow White she knew.

What exactly did she GIVE the Gold family on Emma's first birthday?

But for some reason, Snow kept reading.

And then the John Doe grabbed her hand.


	89. Chapter 89

Emma's feet were killing her when she got home that evening. It was another late night. Emma had busied herself in trying to weaken as many of the places in the curse as possible.

She had spent the evening with Archie. She was trying to help him grow his backbone and stand against Regina but it was proving tiresome. He wasn't ready yet. Emma was tempted to drop him down into the mines and let him realize just how little Regina cared about him.

But that would be wrong. She just needed to be patient. He would find himself in his own time. They all would.

The house was quiet when Emma walked in. IT was late. Jefferson had left some dinner and Emma had some. She put the rest in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch.

Emma was certain she'd gotten most of the important things out of the way. Tomorrow, she was going to spend the day with her family. She'd been neglecting her husband and son for the better part of two days. She needed to find a way to balance being a family woman and being the savior.

Maybe her dad had a point when he didn't want her to find a suitable husband until after the curse.

Emma checked on her sleeping son and gave him a kiss goodnight on the forehead and tucked him in. He was getting older…he was going to be a teenager soon. Where had the time gone? She remembered when she held him for the first time still. A red faced squalling blob of flesh that they immediately took away from her.

She spent a few seconds staring at her boy's face. The other children were aging now, he could form bonds. That made Emma so deliriously happy. Her son could have something that she never had with children her own age.

David stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes, "Mom?"

"Shh," Emma whispered and kissed her son's forehead, "It's okay. Go to sleep. I was just seeing you before I went to bed."

"Okay," he told her and sat up to kiss her.

"Goodnight," she pushed some hair back from his face.

She got up to leave but stopped when she saw his clothes scattered around the room. God, he was such a boy!

"Mom?" he asked while she went around the room gathering his clothes.

"Yes?"

"When are we all going to the forest?"

"I don't know," Emma told him and sat at the rocking chair that her father had once rocked her to sleep in when she was little. It was sentimental to her. If she had to dismantle it and strap it to her back, she was taking it to the enchanted forest with her. Her father and she had fond memories on that chair. Just like she and David did when she would rock him to sleep or sit there reading to him with him in her lap following along, "It's not exact."

"Would we have to live in log cabins?

"I think they're more stone," she told him, "And I think that everyone has enough knowledge about this world to where…things like bathrooms will make it inside those huts."

He smiled at her juvenile humor and from the light of the hallway, she could see him becoming serious, "Could I help you? With your savior stuff."

Emma didn't want him anywhere near Regina or anything having to do with her but she understood why he wanted to help, "Why do you want to help, David?"

"Because you're going to be a hero…and I want to be a hero too."

Emma studied him. He wanted to be a knight when they got over to the Enchanted Forest. He talked about it constantly when they were home; she understood why he wanted to help. He saw her being brave…he knew the things Jefferson did to help and he knew that his grandfather raised Emma to be the savior. Even Grace had her won sort of bravery. Emma understood that he felt lost among his family.

"David," she pulled him to sit upright and she leaned in close so that he could know that she was serious, "David…this…isn't going to be like it used to be. This isn't a game and time is moving. This isn't the time to poke Regina with sticks like we have been. Regina's going to start getting desperate. She will…hurt us or kill us if she gets the chance and just because you're ten years old doesn't mean she won't find a way to do the same to you."

David absorbed what she told him and he was quiet for a few seconds, "I want to help anyway."

Emma bit the inside of her cheek. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to let him do something small with her. Maybe the smaller things would be good for him. She wanted him to do something brave too but not to where he would get in danger.

"We'll see. We'll talk about it," Emma told him.

"That usually means 'no,'" David pouted.

"That's because I'm your mother and I'm always right," she said and kissed his cheek and helped him in bed, "Ask your father."

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Emma had expected Jefferson to be asleep when she got up to the room but she found him lying awake on the couch upstairs reading a book.

"James Patterson?" she asked and unbuttoned her shirt.

"Yeah, your father keeps gushing about how great he is but I don't see the appeal."

Emma slipped into her pajamas, "I'm not sure my father gushes."

"You have never seen him talking about you or David then."

"Hm," she crawled on top of him and laid down on him, "I guess I'll just have to take your mind off your boring book then."

"Oh," He wrapped his arms around her and they kissed.

Emma gave a tired sigh and buried her face in his shirt, "How was your day?"

"Boring," he muttered, "Spent the day up here."

"You could've come down to see me."

"No, not with the way Regina's prowling around," he rubbed her back.

They were quiet for a few seconds and Emma looked up to him and rested her chin on his chest, 'I'm sorry that I haven't been here emotionally these past couple of days."

"I know that you had things to do," he told her, "I know that Hansel and Gretel, and Cinderella and whomever else you saved today are important. You needed to get this out of the way."

"But we haven't had the chance to talk really. And we need to."

"Do you think you've been avoiding the house so you don't have to talk about things?"

"I don't know," Emma shoved her hand over her eyes and rubbed them, "I don't…I don't know."

"Do you want the baby?"

"I want the baby!" Emma insisted, "I've wanted a baby with you for a while now. I just…I think I'm scared. I mean; why now? Time is moving, the course is about to break, I'm about to meet my parents, Regina's about to get dethroned, our family's dynamic is about to turn…insane, the town is about to turn insane, you're about to get your daughter back and so we would have to adjust to that and I just…I'm nowhere near mentally prepared to have this baby now and it sucks because I want this baby. I want this family with you and I'm terrified that the stress or Regina will cause me to lose him or her. I can't…I can't deal with that now. I can't be in that mindset if I lose this baby. I can't afford that. None of them can afford it. Now…it might work out….I could have this baby and we could go home and be happy. However, you and I both know that it never works out that easily."

"Well, what do you propose we do?"

Emma sat up on him; she was in a position that she was straddling her husband's hips. If someone just stormed in, they were in for a surprise. He lifted his hand and placed it on her belly. Emma placed her hands over his, "Regina can't know."

He nodded, "But she'll find a way to find out."

Emma looked at him in fear, "If she finds out then she'll kill this baby. She'll go after the weakest one in the family."

"And how do you propose to hide it?"

"I'll wear baggier clothes."

"That's a sure way to get her to notice if you just randomly start wearing baggier clothes," he pointed out.

"Well, what do you propose we do?" Emma demanded.

He looked down at her stomach. He traced a thumb over where his child was growing…_might _be growing. It was too easy to just assume she was pregnant.

But what if she was? What did they do?

"We ask your father to use the 'please' deal."

"She'll find another way," Emma told him.

"She might," he agreed, "But we can see those other threats coming a lot easier."

He gave her such a tender smile that she automatically felt ease. Even though she knew that feeling comfort would be destructive if she let her guard down outside this room.

"I'll talk to my father in the morning," she told him and kissed him.

"He'll say yes to you," Jefferson smiled, "He always says 'yes' to you, you little daddy's girl."

Emma smiled as Jefferson sat up, grabbed her by her back and hips, flipped them both over and lowered her back onto the couch. Emma felt a breath of air leave her and her heart started racing excitedly as her husband lifted her shirt and pressed his lips sensually against her belly. Emma's back arched, "Anything else you want me to ask my father?"

He trailed his lips up to her neck. He only lifted his head to hover it over her ear, "I don't want to talk about your father right now, Emma."

"Wonder why," she whispered and pulled his lips on hers.

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The ringing of the phone that morning brought both Jefferson and Emma out of their sleep. Jefferson stopped mid-snore, Emma lifted her head with a start…they were packed pretty tight on that couch. Jefferson was on his back, and she was cuddled between his side and the back of the couch. Once they'd made love here and he fell asleep on top of her…boy, they'd never do that again.

Emma rubbed her eyes and reached over her husband to grab her pants on the floor. Maybe she was where David got his sloppiness from.

It was her mother.

Emma's eyes grew as she remembered what she told her mom to do last night and she put the phone against her ear, "Yeah?"

"Emma…..you were right."

Emma sat up with a start. Jefferson immediately became alarmed and sat up as well, "Emma?"

"I was right about what?" she asked.

"H-he….I was reading to him….last night like you told me and he…he grabbed me."

Emma looked at her husband, "He's awake?"

Jefferson grabbed her arm, "He's awake?"

Emma let out some of the air from her chest and smiled at her husband in excitement. Charming was awake….would he remember? Would he have his own memories or false ones? Emma hoped it was real ones…she was so curious about him. Rumpelstiltskin barely told her anything about him and she had…so many questions.

"I told Dr. Whale and he told me I imagined it."

"Of course he did," she muttered and ignored her husband shaking her shoulder, asking questions.

"Everything was normal when we got back, and he told me to go home and sleep. And then I did and….Emma…"

"Mary Margaret?" Emma asked with an edge in her voice.

"It's….the John Doe was gone when I got back."

"What?" Emma demanded and reached for her other phone. The battery was dead; she'd forgotten to recharge it. She shoved it in the recharger and saw that she'd missed two calls. With a quick curse, she stood up and started gathering clothes.

"Emma?" Jefferson asked

"Charming's awake," Emma said, "And he's gone."

"Do you think that maybe…Regina-?"

"I don't know, I don't' know," she pulled on fresh clothes as quickly as possible. She didn't have time for a shower. They'd just have to smell her, "I'm going to call my dad; I need you to drop David off. I have a feeling that no matter what, I'm going to need you with me today."

**A/N: yeah, it's a bit of a slow chapter this time around, but I haven't really gotten a chance to write Emma's relationships with her husband and son fully since the time jump. And if there are those of you that are concerned, I wanted to go ahead and say that this is NOT going to be a carbon copy of most of the things that happened in Season 1 of the show. There will be a lot of elements that are the same, but there will be things that are very different.**


	90. Chapter 90

"We should get a search party in the woods," Mary Margaret told Emma as she, Jefferson and Emma gathered things from the trunk.

He had wandered out the door and into the woods. Grumpy and Sleepy (or whatever his name was here) had lost him because they were drunk and sleeping. And now Charming was gone. Emma wanted to blame them for it…she knew they were to blame but it was still the fault of Regina. She's the one that GAVE them these personalities.

It was because of her curse that there was a door right next to the woods (Emma was sure that violated safety precautions)

It was Regina's fault because Charming was nearly murdered protecting her. He wouldn't be in this situation if not for that witch.

"No," Emma said and pulled on her coat, "A search party will take too long to assemble and they'll destroy any trail that Ch-….John Doe left behind. We'll move a lot faster if it's just us."

"Yeah," Jefferson muttered, "He…probably won't get far."

Emma looked at her husband as he strapped on a flashlight to his belt. The more they waited, the higher chance her father had of reaching the border. And then he'd be like Grace…

Emma just got him back…and she had so many questions…she didn't want those questions to be answered in a Morse code like communication that Jefferson and Grace designed to communicate.

Mary gave Jefferson a confused look and he cleared his throat, "You know...because of the coma."

Emma gave him a tired look and grabbed a blanket. It was going to be cold tonight and he was just in hospital attire. He wouldn't be prepared for the temperatures when they dropped. And when it got dark then they'd lose the trail. They had to get started if they hoped to get through most of the woods by nightfall.

Emma tried to get rid of her mother but Snow insisted on coming. She didn't know why. She didn't understand the bond that she felt towards the John Doe but she was drawn to him and so Emma allowed it.

The last thing she wanted was for her mother to go looking for Charming by herself. She didn't want her mother by herself in the woods while Regina prowled about. She knew that Charming was lost. She had gotten the call. She had been quiet in the hospital as Doctor Whale gave his statement. She was plotting something though. Emma could see that calculating look in her eyes.

Emma was going to find him first.

Her phone rang in her pocket, and she answered it when she saw it was her father, "Dad?"

_"Have you left yet?"  
_

"About to," she told him and moved towards the woods.

"_Ask your mother which story she read. Ask them where they were in the book." _

"What?" she asked.

"_Just does it," _he snapped, "_If he was waking up when she was reading it to him, then he might be confused. He might be looking for the location that she was reading for him." _

Emma put the phone from her ear, "Which story were you reading him?"

"What does it matter?" Snow asked.

"Just…," Emma nodded, "Humor me."

"It was….they were on a bridge…some troll bridge or something…"

Jefferson caught on immediately, "He'll be going to the toll bridge."

"Call you back," Emma hung up the phone and rushed to the driver's seat.

Snow got in the back of the sheriff's car and Jefferson got driver's seat.

"IT's not far," Emma yanked the stick into reverse and then peeled forward once they were out in the street. She looked at her mother in the rearview mirror, "We'll get him back."

One way or another, she was going to meet the man that helped create her.

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When Emma had told Rumpelstiltskin what she had done…when she told him the measures she had taken to wake her own father up, he had expressed as much dignity as he could outwardly, but inside he was screaming and panicking.

His daughter was going to meet her father, and he was going to be a better man than Rumpelstiltskin and he was going to be a better grandfather and father in law and he was going to be replaced.

And why shouldn't he? It was by some miracle that Rumpelstiltskin hadn't screwed up Emma any more than he had. Rumpelstiltskin had no doubt that Charming would be a better parental figure than Rumpelstiltskin had ever hoped to be.

And Emma would be right to want him for a father. Charming had been unjustifiably ripped from her life and she had gotten a monster as a replacement. She denied she wanted anyone else but him. But who wouldn't want Prince charming for a father? Emma had proved her own self wrong when she went through the steps that would ensure his waking up. He understood that she was curious. In his own jealousy…he hadn't allowed her to know much about her own dad but he was selfish. He made no excuses for that. But that curiosity was going to get her to form a relationship with her father…and even though she claimed it wouldn't happen…she would be drawn to him. And Rumpelstiltskin would be ignored. Emma would see what she could've had.

And then she'd have David form a relationship with Charming. After all, Emma had only allowed him access to his grandson because she was in prison. That would change now that he had a better role model to look up to. And once again, she would have good reason to. After everything Rumpelstiltskin had put her through, it made no sense that she put him over her actual father.

She would leave him. Just like everyone did. And unlike most of them, Emma would be right to do so.

He was dreading that silent house already. It wasn't so bad after Emma got married. They accepted him over frequently. Emma called most times to ask him to come over but now…that would change. Even if Emma included him, he couldn't be there with her parents once they remembered. He wouldn't be. It would be too awkward and it would be too painful. He didn't believe himself to be a man that caused misery for the sake of causing misery.

His grandson looked up at him as they walked together to the park from the ice cream store. Rumpelstiltskin risked the chance of him holding an ice cream cone ruining his reputation. He liked the strawberries.

"Is it really as bad as you say?" David asked as they moved side by side, "Is it really that bad over there?"

"For some," he told David honestly.

"Was it bad for you?"

"For a time," he told him, "I got better."

"When you turned into the Dark One," David noted.

Rumpelstiltskin looked down at his grandson. He wasn't surprised that David knew. He and Emma didn't quite put a filter on their conversations about the old world. He doubted Emma and Jefferson did either, "Does that scare you?"

David shrugged, "Sometimes I guess."

"Most kids your age were terrified of me," he teased the boy slightly, "You'd have to be pretty brave to want to associate yourself with me knowing what I am."

"You're my granddad," David pointed out, "And mom says you changed from what you were."

"Maybe I haven't," Rumpelstiltskin gave his hand a flourish, "Maybe it's just an act."

David studied him, "No. You can't live with someone as long as mom lived with you and not know what's an act and what isn't. I don't think you're as bad as you used to be."

"Oh," Rumpelstiltskin said in good humor and raised his eyebrow, "'as_ bad'_?"

"Well, you still need some work," David said thoughtfully, "But I think we could get you straightened out."

"David, I've been a bad person for over 300 years. It's going to take a lot longer than 28 years of behaving to atone for what I did."

"I know," David said, "I know it'll take a while. But I think you can do it."

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know," David said, "I'm ten. I haven't gotten it all figured out yet."

"Oh, I see," Rumpelstiltskin said, "So, you're going to save me, is that it?"

"No," David said, "I can't save you. You have to do that for yourself. Not for anybody. Otherwise it won't work. Anyway, it's not my job to save you like you're thinking. That's mom's. That's what she was chosen for. I can't save anyone until after we all go home."

"Oh, is that what you're going to do?" Rumpelstiltskin asked. He knew the boy had dreams of becoming a knight but he had hoped that David would grow out of that. A knight was a dangerous profession and if he got hurt, it would break his mother's heart.

And it'd probably kill Rumpelstiltskin too.

"Yeah," David said, "I want to help all the people that don't have good lives over there since mom won't let me do it here. She worries about me"

"Yes, well you're still a child and she's your mother and that's what mother's do," Rumpelstiltskin told him, "Fathers as well."

They walked up to the park and David looked up at him, "Do you think they'll find him? Prince Charming, I mean."

"Probably," Rumpelstiltskin ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. He honestly hoped that if he lost Emma (that would almost kill him) that David would at least come see him, "Your grandmothers with them. And if there's one thing that Charming and Snow are good at, it's finding each other."

He shuddered at that overused phrase.

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"Are you sure that he's here?" Mary Margaret asked as they pulled off to the edge of the road and they all opened their doors.

"No," Emma said, "But if we're wrong, we can always go back."

Jefferson looked at his wife, "The trail will be cold by then."

Emma grabbed the blanket and walked over towards the edge of the bridge. It had only occurred to her just now that her father, in exhaustion and weakness, might have fallen in the river and gotten swept away….

No, that was stupid; there was a beaver dam that served as the 'border' for the river. He'd get impaled on that before he got swept down the river to God knew where.

Mary Margaret spotted him first. He was in his side, in the water. From the height of the bridge, Emma couldn't see if he was moving or not and his back was turned to them, so she couldn't see if he was breathing.

"Oh my god," Mary Margaret whispered and ran down the incline. Emma followed and nearly stumbled when her ankle twisted.

"Emma!" Jefferson reached out to steady her. His hand went to her elbow and the other went to her stomach.

She grabbed onto him and righted herself, "Thank you."

She grabbed the walkie that was strapped to her shoulder and connected to the dispatcher, "I need an ambulance to the toll bridge, _right now_."

No. He couldn't be…they couldn't lose him after all this time! He'd just awakened!

Emma fought the panic and reached her father's side right behind Jefferson. Jefferson grabbed her father's shoulders and lifted. Mary Margaret grabbed his legs and they pulled him out of the water. He was blue from the hypothermia. It was cold in that water. Emma felt pins and needles in her legs when she stepped into the water.

"No, no, no, no," Sobbed Mary Margaret and she knelt by his side, "I found you!"

"It's going to be okay," Jefferson told both of them and started doing chest compressions on her father. Emma moved to sit on the other side of his chest so she could start when Jefferson got tired. She let him work. He was stronger than she was, he could be more effective.

While he worked, Emma slipped her hand into Charmings and fought the panic that was racing through her the more the seconds ticked by.

Mary Margaret tilted his head back and breathed into it. The minute she did, Charming's body tensed and he started struggling. Jefferson and Emma moved him on his side so that he could cough up the water and when he was done, they placed him back on his back.

Mary Margaret gave him a hopeful look and placed her hands on the sides of his face.

"You saved me," he croaked out weakly.

"He's alive," Emma whispered and stood back, "He's alive…he's alive…."

She wasn't aware her husband was beside her until he wrapped his arms around her. She felt herself crumble in his arms for a brief second as she let the reality sink in.

Charming was alive…one way or another, he was alive.

Her parents were together…her mother had awakened him.

Emma didn't cry…she felt she was too tired to. The stress of possibly finding her father catatonic or dead had weighed down on her.

But she did cling to her husband and for a brief couple of seconds, she let him support her. It was a weakness that she allowed every now and then. She had tried being strong all the time when they started off in their marriage but that façade quickly crumbled and she learned that she could rely and trust him enough to lean on him when she needed him.

Watching her dad draw in large amounts of air and watching her mother cover him with the blanket and smile down at him was one of those times.

"Ready to meet your dad?" Jefferson asked.

Emma didn't correct him. She knew what he meant.

"I don't know," she told him truthfully.

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Emma helped the nurses push the gurney through the hospital until Dr. Whale and two others caught up to them and pulled it through the doors, "We got it from here."

Jefferson grabbed his wife's hand and held it tightly. Charming was awake. He was awake but was he Charming? Or was he someone else? Would Emma meet the man that created her and gave his life protecting her? Or would she have to wait just like she did with everyone else?

Emma reached over and grabbed her mother's hand as well, while they watched through the glass doors.

She didn't pay attention to the blonde rushing through the doors until Dr. Whale started telling her to leave. The woman's attention was on Charming as Whale kept trying to steer her backwards and Emma saw the wedding ring on her finger and she knew….

Her hand slipped away from her husband right before they heard the clicking behind them.

Mary Margaret didn't hear it yet, "Who is that?"

"His wife," Regina said from behind them.

They all turned around. Emma watched as her mother's face crumbled before Regina's eyes.

Emma gave Regina a seething glare as Regina turned to her and gave her that smirk she was so adept at giving.

The intention was clear.

_Your move, Ms. Gold. _

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Emma watched the fire from her position on the couch. She was relatively warm. She was cross-legged on the couch, the blanket was around her. Her son was stretched out on the longwise section of the couch, asleep. He was cocooned in his own blanket and his head was on the red pillow. Emma knew she should send him to bed but she sort of wanted him there with her. Whenever Regina reared her smarmy head, Emma sort of became more protective of her son. Regina had tried several times to put a wedge between Emma and her father. She didn't want her son to be put through the same thing she had.

The door opened and Jefferson came in with a tray of tea, "Where's your mom?"

"She um…," Emma took a cup that he handed her, "She went to bed. She….is devastated but she can't understand why. She wasn't feeling very sociable. It kills me that I can't tell her, you know."

He sat beside her and kissed her gently, "She'll know soon."

Emma held his hand, "I don't know how much longer I can wait before this is all over."

He wrapped his arm around her and rubbed her back, "It won't take long."

"Why do I have the feeling that this is going to be the longest wait we'll have in all of this?"

He grabbed her hands and brought them up to his lips. She closed her eyes tightly to fight tears of frustration.

Emma didn't feel…angry or upset that Regina had done this. She just felt numb. The most she felt was pity for that poor woman who probably had a whole set of other false memories before Regina forced these onto her. And now she was used for a pawn.

"I can't let Regina ruin that woman's life too," Emma whispered.

"We won't," Jefferson promised her, but both knew that it was too late for that.

"I'm so stupid," Emma whispered and rubbed her temples.

"You're not stupid."

"For a second, when I saw my mom and him together, I actually thought that it was going to be that easy. It's never that easy. Especially not now. Not with everything going like it is."

"Emma," Jefferson moved so that he was facing her, "We don't….we don't know if your father has his full memories or his false ones."

"He says he doesn't remember," Emma told him, "HE's a blank slate."

"Then that's easier," Jefferson took her hands, "It means that he'll only have one set of memories to deal with when the curse is broken. His own. Isn't that a comforting thought?"

"Until Regina screws it up again."

"We'll just have to make sure she doesn't," he told her, "Your father still needs to do that 'please' thing on her that we talked about yesterday. Maybe we can get him to add leaving your biological father alone to the list."

Emma rubbed her hands over her eyes, "I haven't even talked to him about that yet. Everything with Charming came up and I forgot."

"You can talk to him tomorrow."

"I can't talk to him tomorrow either, I don't know when I'm going to find time."

"For what?" he asked, "It's Sunday."

"Regina's going to be pushing this Kathryn Nolan to take Charming home…and I can't let that happen. If she's his wife then she's going to want to do…you know…eventually and if he goes along with it believing that she's his wife…both will wake up and they'll regret it. I can't let that happen."

"So, tomorrow, you're going to-," he started.

Emma nodded, "I gotta start pushing my parents together."

"You'll have to be subtle."

"I can be subtle," Emma nodded.

"You're Rumpelstiltskin's daughter. I'm not sure either one of you knows that is."

Despite her emotions over the day, she smiled slightly at that, "You always know what to say, husband."

"So we're breaking up a false marriage so that the real one that no one knows about can remain intact," Jefferson said and then shrugged, "That doesn't sound too hard."

"Yeah," Emma said, copying his sarcasm, "Should be done in no time."

"You realize that if you're actually successful in this," he moved over and lifted his son from the couch. David didn't awaken; he could sleep through a bomb going off next door, "Your mother's reputation will most likely be soured."

"My mother has been associating herself with Rumpelstiltskin since I was like…three weeks old," Emma followed him, "I'm not sure there's enough of a reputation there to ruin."

They put David down for the night and went to their own room. Emma collapsed in the bed and her husband crawled in beside her. She automatically drew close to him in the darkness of the room.

"You know what bugs me?" she asked as she lay behind him.

"Hm?"

"My dad's been awful quiet about Charming being woken up."

"I thought we wanted that."

"What we want and what happens aren't necessarily the same thing, honey. He's always made it clear that he was going to fight like the devil to keep me. He claimed he wouldn't fight it if Charming woke up and I went to them for a family…but we both know how little of a chance there is of him being submissive like that. He's changed, but he's still very much Rumpelstiltskin"

"You think he's going to put a pillow over Charming's face and blame Regina?"

It was certainly a possibility but Emma liked to think her father was cleverer than that, "No…but I think we should keep an eye on him all the same."

"Another stressful thing added to our lives," Jefferson turned around and gave her a kiss goodnight, "Perfect."


	91. Chapter 91

Emma left the house early that morning. It felt like she was doing it more and more these days. Jefferson had an internal alarm clock that woke him up when it was time to get David to school. But usually she was the one that woke him up. Not today though, Emma had things she needed to do. She wanted to get in and get them done before anyone woke up and started getting in her way.

Emma liked to say that she guarded the sheep like a shepherd would, but sometimes her sheep got underfoot.

Emma put on a heavy shirt and drove. She knew she wasn't showing yet…but she still felt safer and more secure. Besides, it was getting colder. She would have to dress in heavier clothes anyway.

No one in the hospital paid attention to her as she walked through the halls. Visiting hours didn't apply to her. It wasn't like they were ever enforced on her part anyway. Having her father for a father had its benefits.

He would just feel betrayed if he knew that she was here.

Emma wasn't looking for a replacement dad. She wasn't here thinking that somehow she'd get to know her father by interacting with her amnesiac biological dad. But after 28 years of seeing him in that hospital bed and not moving, she wanted to see him awake. She wanted to make sure that he was safe.

Him being in a false marriage…it was the best solution. But for now Regina thought she won. She wouldn't…pursue hurting him hopefully. But that would change if Emma moved forward with her plans.

But Emma HAD to move forward. If she didn't then the lives of her parents and Abigail might be forever ruined.

But they'd be ruined if she did move forward. So what did she do?

Emma could handle anything Regina threw at her, but now she had a family. She had a husband and son and another little one on the way possibly. They and her parents could get hurt and Emma was in an unwinnable situation and that terrified her. The unknown terrified her because after 28 years, she wasn't used to it. She had her life planned out for her those 28 years and now that that carpet was ripped out from under her...she didn't know what she should do.

She really wished her dad kept his foresight.

"Emma!" Dr. Whale greeted as she came into the room, "Come in."

"Sorry," Emma said and stopped when Charming…Mr. Nolan turned to look at her with curious eyes that didn't recognize her. Something stirred in her chest. She didn't know how to explain it. It wasn't the love a child felt for her parent….Emma knew what that felt like but there was a different kind of love there, "I know it's a bit early."

"No, it's fine," Mr. Nolan said, "I was awake."

"I just have a couple of questions," Emma said without taking her eyes off him. All her life, she'd been told she was going to save everyone. And here she was staring at the first person to save hers. Well, technically her mother saved her life by telling him to put her into the wardrobe according to the book. But somehow Emma couldn't explain it; she liked to think that Prince Charming was the first one to save her life. Sure, her father and Jefferson saved her life too but there was just something about the way Charming held her to her chest and faced down like…three guys with swords to save her.

That was…special. And Emma was so sorry that she could never look at him like the father that he deserved to be. She just couldn't. She couldn't look at him as that figure in her life and that would hurt him deeply when he woke up and she would regret that.

Now that she was staring at her biological father's eyes, that reality was just….there.

Emma fought tears as she stared at Mr. Nolan.

"I can….answer what I can," Mr. Nolan said.

"Just keep the questions short," Whale said, "He's still recovering. After all this time of being in a coma…the night and half day he spent outside wondering in the woods and passing out in the river and almost drowning…he needs his rest."

"I can answer a couple of questions," Mr. Nolan said.

Emma stared at him and then it occurred to her that she had no idea what question she should ask. She didn't think that far ahead. She just wanted to see him and make sure he was safe.

Emma cleared her throat and shook her head, "No, no, it's…its fine. It can wait until you're stronger. I just…wanted to stop by and make sure you were okay."

"Well, thank you," he said brightly.

Emma nodded, "Well I have stuff to do. I should….get going."

She turned to leave and fought tears as she left the hospital.

Her biological father sat there, not recognizing her…and she couldn't acknowledge him as her father and it was going to break his heart because Emma was raised and loved another man for a father figure and she couldn't break him like so many others did.

Emma saw the familiar car waiting when she got outside and she circled around to the passenger seat without even thinking about it.

"David get off to school okay?" she asked without looking at her husband.

"Yeah," he looked at her. He held out his hand and she took it.

"I don't even know him," Emma whispered, "I'm happy with the family I have. But he doesn't see me. He doesn't see me and he should but he doesn't and it hurts. It shouldn't hurt…b-because it hurts for what will happen to our relationship and not what's happening now."

"I know."

"I'm not making sense," she rubbed her temples, "We got bigger problems and I'm sitting her crying over a man I can't acknowledge as my father and I'm freaking out and I shouldn't be freaking out because I'm the savior and I've trained for this! I need to be stronger."

"Emma, this is the first time you've seen your father in 28 years-."

"He's not my father!" she snapped.

"Well Rumpelstiltskin didn't knock boots with your mother and make you," Jefferson said and then shuddered, "Biologically he's still your father. And he was so injured protecting you that he should be dead. It's not weakness that you're emotional over seeing him again. You're not weak because you show emotion Emma. It makes you human."

She looked at her husband and stared into his eyes…those loving supportive eyes and she leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Besides, how do you think I feel?" he asked, "I'm going to have to deal with impressing two father-in-laws."

Emma laughed despite her emotions and looked up at him. He always had something to say that alleviated at least some of the stress, "I love you, you know that?"

"Always," he gave her a gentle kiss, "And I suppose that I love you too."

Emma smiled and kissed him again, "Can we just go home for a while?"

"Oh god, yes," he said with his voice all husky and seductive, "You haven't had a day off since this whole thing started and we DO have the house to ourselves…"

Emma just stared at her husband, "I was just hoping for a bubble bath…."

"I can work with that," he teased

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**2 Months Later**

"Is it ready yet?" Emma asked as she paced back and forth behind the couch.

Jefferson stared at the small white stick in his hand, "Not yet."

Emma brought the coffee mug to her lips and took a sip of her coffee, "The pregnancy test in the prison was faster than this."

"Good to know the taxpayers money paid for top of the line pregnancy tests," he muttered and narrowed his eyes at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Coffee's not good for the baby"

"He doesn't mind."

"Emma!"

"Trust me; this will be the least of his problems."

"He?" Jefferson asked.

"Or she," Emma acknowledged and climbed over the back of the couch and sat beside her husband, "I can't pace any longer."

Jefferson kissed his wife's hand and they waited until the results came up.

Two pink stripes. She was pregnant.

"Well," Emma said. She had expected to feel horrified that she was pregnant now of all times…but she didn't. She just sort of accepted it now that it'd been two months and she felt protective of the baby growing insider her, "There it is then."

"There's another one in the box if you want to go and retest it."

"No," Emma said, there was no reason. She knew she was. This just confirmed it, "Just…let's just tell David."

"Okay," he grabbed her hand, "Emma…we _can _do this."

"I know," she whispered. And she was happy that she and Jefferson were going to have her family. Jefferson knew that. Just like he knew that she felt dread as well.

Jefferson gave her an excited kiss and a hug and he stood up to go get their son. While he was gone, Emma ran her hands over her slightly expanded belly. Despite everything, there was a jolt of excitement. She smiled warmly down at her stomach.

She and Jefferson were going to have a baby.

She felt sort of stupid but she gave a bit of a goofy wave at her own stomach, "Hi."

She heard the pounding down the stairs and she smiled when she saw her son and husband come into the room.

"Mom," David sounded frantic, "What's going on?"

"David," Emma gestured to the seat next to her, "Sit down, we have something important to tell you.

Jefferson sat on the other side of David, and he cleared his throat, "As you know…your mother and I decided that we would be honest with you in any big developments and…this is a big one."

"You know that the family dynamic will change soon," Emma said, "Once everyone wakes up, they're going to be different. Mary Margaret….isn't going to be Mary Margaret anymore and Prince Charming will take the place of David Nolan and…you will eventually get Grace as your sister. And that's going to be a rather big change as you're used to being the only kid in the house."

"But now there's been a development that'll change everything," Jefferson said and nodded to Emma. She had asked that she be the one to tell him.

"I'm pregnant," Emma told him, "Your father and I are going to have a baby."

"Now?" David exclaimed and looked at both of them, "Is it…linked to the curse somehow or…how to break it."

"It's….," Jefferson hesitated, "Very probable."

David looked to his mother, concern on his face, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah David," she smiled, "I'm okay."

"Are you scared?" he asked.

These days, she was always scared.

"No David," Emma lied. She was terrified, her father was scared and her husband was as scared as she was. She didn't want her son being scared as well. Let him keep his innocence for at least a little while longer, "We're going to come out of this okay."

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David Nolan felt like he was living in a fog. It was like knowing that you had a weird dream but not remembering what the dream was. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember his own life.

It was a scary thing staring at his loved ones and not knowing them. He tried to remember Kathryn but he couldn't. She talked about memories and showed him photos of him and her and he just couldn't remember!

He didn't know why but he felt guilt. It didn't make sense but he felt like he was failing his wife because he didn't recall anything. And to make it even worse, he couldn't get his mind off Mary Margaret, who visited him every day. He couldn't explain the connection to her but he felt more for her than he did his wife. Was it because she saved him?

Tonight, he was feeling even more depressed, he was going home tomorrow…and Kathryn was allowed to stay after visiting hours to help him get packed. Maybe things would be better though. If he was at home, he didn't have to see Mary Margaret every day and he could save his marriage.

But did he honestly want to save his marriage? Or would he be happier with someone else?

No…he had to at least try.

He and Kathryn walked together through the hallways of the hospital before he returned to his room. He had been in a coma for 28 years, he needed his strength. He didn't know why, he dodged everyone when he woke up. But he couldn't even remember that time either.

"Mr. Gold," Kathryn Nolan gasped.

David looked up to see a smaller man in a black suit limping along with a cane. David stared down at his ankle and saw that it was turned inward slightly.

There was a windmill in the man's hand.

"Hello Mrs. Nolan," this Mr. Gold greeted in a thick Scottish accent, "I heard your patient may be going home tomorrow."

"Yes, they're finally letting him go home," Kathryn said and gave him a loving smile.

"Pardon me for bothering you, but I'd like to give you a gift." He placed the windmill on a desk.

"Isn't that the old windmill that we used to have in our yard?"

"It is indeed," Mr. Gold said tensely.

Kathryn looked at David, "It was…in our yard when we bought the house. I had to sell it when times were hard."

"And since your husband can't remember," the man said with a grim look on his face that made him look guilty of something. "I thought perhaps he might remember."

David shrugged, moved forward and pressed his fingers against the blade and spun it.

And then everything….everything…his childhood, his time as a teenager and then as an adult and then his meeting and marrying Kathryn…it all came flooding back to him. He gasped at the sudden overload and stepped back

"David?" Kathryn asked in a panic.

"I-," he looked at Mr. Gold, who had an unreadable expression. It almost looked like what he did pained him almost, "I remember."

And then…however slightly, he thought he saw Mr. Gold smile.

**A/N: I never quite understood why Mr. Gold gave Charming his false memories in the original series, but I do think that in this story, it makes a bit of sense. **

** Op, Rumpel just opened up a can of worms that he might not be able to control. How will Emma handle it? **


	92. Chapter 92

The evening wasn't over yet before some of the town knew about David Nolan regaining his memories. Rumpelstiltskin didn't think Emma was aware of it yet…because if she did know then she'd have traced it back to him.

Rumpelstiltskin did not feel guilt for what he had done. He didn't do it to be cruel, and he didn't do it to hurt anyone. They would recover in time once they woke up. There were hundreds of people here that were hundreds of people there that were married to others that were not their spouses. They would recover…Emma's parents would too.

He just wanted to hold onto her…for just a little while longer. She could tell him that she didn't care about Charming being her dad all she wanted. He knew it was a lie. She had been fascinated over him since she was a little girl. He had seen her face when his name was brought up after he woke. There was a desire to get to know him there and that was ALWAYS the start. That was ALWAYS how they left him.

And it hurt. Emma hadn't even left yet and he felt his heart being ripped in shreds. If he lost her and Bae didn't accept him then he would truly _truly _become dust.

It hadn't occurred to him until after he sat at Granny's bar that perhaps…in trying NOT to lose Emma, he had taken actions that would ensure that loss. Emma was not going to stand for this. This might push her away for good. What if he lost her this way? What if it was a self-fulfilling prophecy?

He choked another shot back. He usually didn't like the taste of alcohol but he would make the exception.

This wasn't because he felt guilty; it was because he didn't want to lose Emma.

Down the bar, he saw Mary Margaret on the verge of tears as she nursed her own alcoholic beverage. He watched her for a few seconds as she stared out into space. He would feel guilt for ruining her chances of happiness, but he had to remind himself that Mary Margaret was not a real person. She was nothing more than a blanket…placed over something. You couldn't see the object underneath…but you could make out the shape…and eventually that blanket would be ripped away and whatever was under it would be shown. That object was basically Snow White and the blanket was her alternate personality.

But Mary Margaret wasn't just some…object, or blanket, or band-aide or whatever he wanted to think of her as. She was her own person. Because of him and Emma…she had taken on her own persona that was just as real as Snow.

She was Emma's mother for the sake of the gods! She was the one that raised Emma. Not Snow. And when Snow woke up, she would have to face the fact that she had not raised her own child. A cursed personality did.

Did that mean the deal wasn't fulfilled? No, it had to be. The deal was that she could see Emma, and she did. Well…Mary Margaret did, but how much of Snow was mixed in with Mary Margaret was debatable. Regina must've kept enough of Snow intact so that it was worth verbally hurting Mary Margaret every chance she got.

He watched her for a couple of seconds before he noticed Dr. Whale going to sit with her.

Oh, _gods _no!

He immediately stood. No. He didn't care about David Nolan and Kathryn. He owed them nothing and he had no deals with them. Mary Margaret, he had spent 28 years with. He had developed a….soft spot for her. She had helped him with Emma so much throughout the years. He wasn't going to let Victor Frankenstein of all people sleep with someone that he'd taken under his protection. He knew Whale…and he knew how he thought.

He moved to stand behind Whale. He didn't hear the conversation, but as soon as he stood in place, Whale trailed off and it stretched into awkward silence.

"Mr. Gold," Dr. Whale greeted.

"You're sitting in my seat," he said.

Whale looked like he was going to argue but he thought better of it. He put his drink down and slid out of the stool.

Mary Margaret glared at him, "I don't need you to save me!"

"Hush," he muttered and slid next to her. He placed his drink down and scooted Whale's drink out of the way. She might not need him to save her anymore, but he wouldn't let her make a mistake with Victor. He paled in comparison to Charming, "I am a far better drinking partner anyway."

Mary Margaret stared at him for a second and took a small sip of her own drink.

He had to figure out what she knew, "What ails you, child?"

Mary Margaret put her drink down and the tears sprang up in her eyes again, "You ever walk into a situation, where you know exactly what's going to happen and then you go into it anyway. And then, when what you're afraid of happens, you kick yourself. Because you should've known better. But that's just who you are. It's like you're punishing yourself."

Rumpelstiltskin tried to ignore the barb of pain that crossed his chest when he thought about his own situation…or the several situations that he had found himself in at one time or another, "Indeed I do."

"How do you deal?"

"I've yet to figure that out," he said quietly.

They were silent for a minute or two, "David told me that I was the only one in the town that felt real…I- I let myself get close and he told me all sorts of things. He told me he felt a connection that I felt as well. And now….I stood there as he called me on the phone and told me he remembered and he was going to try with Kathryn because it's the noble thing to do. As if leading me on for weeks is noble. Now what do you think about that?"

At the sight of Mary Margaret hunched over, he sort of felt regret for what he did. He wanted Snow to have her happy ending with Charming…but not if it meant he lost his daughter.

Rumpelstiltskin quietly took the bottle and poured it for her, "I think we both need another drink."

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Rumpelstiltskin could NOT maneuver his cane, no matter how hard he tried. It seemed the world just did not want to stay flat. If it wasn't for Mary Margaret, who he had his arm around; he would be flat on the ground right now.

"I think I might've overdone it a little," Mary Margaret told him as they stumbled down the street.

"I think I overdid it 300 years ago," Rumpelstiltskin told her. He misjudged where the curb was and they both nearly fell.

Mary Margaret burst into giggles, "300 years ago?! I-I don't think that's correct Mr. Gold."

"You have no idea," he told her.

"You don't look a day over 51!"

"That's a really precise age," he told her.

"Well, I know numbers because…," she gestured wildly, "I'm not sure if you remember, but I'm a teacher and all….and I think you don't look 300, I think you look a little 1/6th that."

He felt touched by that. No one ever told him he looked younger than what he actually was, "Thank you Mary, that means a lot to me."

"Ooo," she said rather high pitched, "You never tell me what I say means a lot to you."

Somehow they reached the yard of Mary Margaret's apartment and they stumbled up the stairs. Both spent about five minutes trying to get the key in the door, they stumbled in.

Mary Margaret started crying as soon as she looked around, "Why can't I find someone?"

Rumpelstiltskin moved to hug her. He didn't usually do this, but he usually felt far more affectionate when he was drunk. He liked to blame that on why he was so handsy with the women over back home, "You'll find him one day…and I think it's sooner rather than later."

"Really?" she asked with wide…bleary eyes.

"Indeed."

Mary Margaret bit her lip and stared at his for a second. He was about to ask what he was looking at, but he didn't have to think for long.

Because she grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss.

Rumpelstiltskin, in his drunken state, returned it for a brief second before he got ahold of his senses. Even drunk, he knew this was a completely bad idea that could never work. He gave a muffled yelp and pulled her away. "Snow!"

"Yes!" she argued, clearly thinking that his saying her name was a slurred 'no.'

"We can't," he moved away.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Because you and I know that this would never work," he told her.

"It wouldn't mean anything."

He shook his head. Too tempting for his taste. He needed to get out of here. He doubted he would do something he would regret, but he didn't want to be around that temptation, "It would mean something to us."

After all, it was Regina's original intent that they be married over here so that both would be hurt if they ever woke up. Mr. Gold had some sort of feeling for her just as she did with him. Only difference was that he had allowed hers to develop over the years as she interacted with his family and raised his daughter.

Mary Margaret gave him a look that indicated her breaking heart, "What's so bad about trying a relationship? After all these years….they talked about us as a couple, so why not see if we would work?"

"Because we would not," he told her, "I am far too old for you and I would not make you happy. We have nothing in common. The only thing we would have in common and the only thing that would make you happy has grown up and is out on her own now. We would not work. But your true love is coming one day, Mary Margaret…and one day we'll look back at this and…more than likely cringe."

She started sobbing and he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Is it too hard to be friends?" he asked.

"No," Mary Margaret whispered, "I'm sorry."

"It's not a problem, dear," he told her and helped her out of her shoes so that she could lie down, "Believe it or not, other women have tried to do far worse to me sober."

Being the Dark One attracted some oddities sometimes.

He sat with her and they talked quietly as friends until she passed out.

And after covering her up with a blanket, he left to go home.

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Emma stretched her legs and back and tried to focus on what her father was saying over the phone while trying to find a comfortable position, "What do you mean that my mother kissed you?"

"She was drunk!" He protested, "And Victor was making passes at her! And so I went in and stepped in and told her she was making a mistake and we went to the apartment and she started talking and she kissed me! All because your father…well, I'm sure you'll hear that one later."

"Oh," so he's my father now?" Emma asked and slapped Jefferson's hand when it tried to snake up her shirt, "I seem to remember you getting offended by that very idea."

"This isn't funny, Emma!" Her father snarled into the phone, "This is serious!"

"Hang up the phone," Jefferson whined and kissed her stomach slowly.

Emma's back automatically arched and she shoved him away again so that she could focus on what her father was telling her, "Dad, you better not take advantage of this. I can't have you as my adopted father and my step-father."

"What did I say about this not being funny?" her father demanded.

"She's drunk," Emma told him, "Chances are, tomorrow she's going to regret the kiss and she'll thank you for keeping her from making a mistake with Victor and you'll agree to forget about it and you'll never speak of it again...especially when she wakes up and realizes she locked lips with Rumpelstiltskin and nearly slept with Frankenstein"

"On a scale of one to ten, ask him what the kiss rated," Jefferson giggled.

"Is that husband of yours listening in?" Rumpelstiltskin demanded after a beat of silence

"Only to my side of the conversation," She kissed Jefferson, "Dad, you really need to stop freaking out. As long as you don't return Mary Margaret's affections, then I don't see the problem."

"I knew spending this much time with her for the past 28 years was a mistake."

"Oh, we both needed her and you know it," Emma smirked, "Hey, if you and mom get married, can I say you're not my real dad if I get mad at you?"

He scoffed and hung up the phone.

Emma giggled and turned off hers as well.

"Your mom kissed your dad?" Jefferson asked.

"I never expected my parents to have more drama in their relationships than I did," she said and bit her lip as he ran his hand over her stomach.

"Well," he whispered, "As long as I don't have to worry about fighting with some man over you."

"Aw," she slung one of her legs over his hips, "I love you too much to make you participate in melodrama. Besides….the sex is too good."

He smirked, wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips on hers. Emma shared the intimate connection and only pulled away to make sure the door was locked.

Her husband trailed kisses from her neck to behind her ears, "Four years, and I still got it."

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Emma's bliss was interrupted later that night when Mary Margaret drunk dialed her to tell her about David Nolan getting his memories back. Emma had been in a dead sleep at the time but it was enough for her not to sleep for the rest of the night.

Her father had done this.

Emma sat curled up in the living room and waiting for the tears to come but they didn't. She was too pissed to cry. Her father had always been paranoid and Emma had done everything but beat him over the head to tell him that _she _wanted _him _as her father. Not Charming. But he didn't understand. He took her curiosity to mean that she would leave him.

Emma's curiosity was merely that. Curiosity. She wanted to know where she came from. She wanted to know the man that created her. That didn't mean she was going to forget 28 years that she spent with Rumpelstiltskin. And he was paranoid and jealous and terrified and acting like a wounded animal and he wouldn't listen.

Well Emma would make him listen and he wouldn't leave the house _until _he listened

That was why, at eight the next morning; Emma stormed into her father's house. She didn't have to look far to find him. He was sleeping on the couch in the living room. He sat up with a start when he heard the front door slam. He looked hung over. He looked in pain.

Good.

"Gods Emma," he rubbed his eyes, "Must you be so loud?"

"What did you do?" she demanded.

At first she thought he was going to play stupid. But instead, he just...shrugged, "You know what I did."

So it was him. Emma had hoped deep down that it was Regina.

She drew in a breath and ran a hand through her hair, "Why?"

"You know why."

Emma lost her temper at him not defending himself, she grabbed a vase that was on the mantle and hurled it across the room. It shattered and fell on the ground.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" she demanded, "Do you even feel sorry for what you did at all?"

"If it means keeping you for a little bit longer then 'no', I do not."

"Dad," she knelt down and grabbed his hands desperately, "You're not going to lose me! You would never lose me! You don't have to ruin three people's lives just to hold on to someone that you won't lose!"

"They're not the first lives I've ruined, dear," he said wryly but there was pain in his eyes, "And they certainly won't be the last."

"Don't you dare justify it by saying you're a monster or bringing up your past," she snapped, "Because we were helping you change. You were going to change, but you can't if you keep doing things like this. You claim you want to protect me? Well, this hurts me. It hurts me to see my mother hurt. It hurts me to see this Kathryn Nolan hurt. And it's going to hurt me to see Prince Charming hurt. Not because he's my biological father but because he is innocent in all this."

"Which is why you would choose him over me."

The words felt like a slap to her, "You know what really hurts me? How you think I'm that shallow!"

"Emma, you would choose him over me because I've hurt you too much."

"I would never abandon you," she stood up and crossed her arms over herself, "I am _not _your father. I am _not _Milah, I am _not _Cora. I am _not _the rest of them that have hurt you so badly that you feel like you need to hurt others first. We made our mistakes in the past but we've moved past it. Or at least I thought we did, but you want to hold onto it like you feel like it justifies feelings you think I have. I don't _have _the animosity that you think I have towards you. I forgave you for the lies you told me years ago. I don't hold onto them. There's no need for you to hold onto them either on the off chance that one day I'll wake up hating you. I _love _you, don't you get that? You're my father. You're the one that raised me to be like I am despite your own…moral limitations. You were the one that made sure I was safe. And if what you say is true…that first night you held me, it was more than me being the savior. It was because I was your daughter. If you can accept me as a daughter…after I ran away for two years and you had no idea where I was or if I was alive…if you can overlook that…then why can't you accept that I want you as a dad?"

"Because I am not a good man. What I did just proved that."

"Dad," Emma fought tears, "If you were not a good man…why would I trust you to watch David when he was a baby? Why would I live with you? When I got back…I could've just stayed with you long enough to get back on my feet and I could've moved out if I thought you were a threat. I would want to protect myself and my son. But I didn't. I came back and I stayed with you and we made ourselves better for our own sakes as well as David's. You don't need to worry about me leaving you behind, dad. I wish you could understand that I'm not going to-."

"Everyone. Leaves," he said with anger in his voice.

Emma sat back down and took his hands, "I came back. So why would I leave you after that? "

It was cheesy probably, but it seemed to strike something in him. His eyes filled with pain and regret. (Though Emma wasn't going to remotely believe he felt bad for what he did, just how he had hurt her) His lip quivered and he pulled her into an embrace. He didn't say anything…he didn't apologize.

Which was fine, because while Emma understood why he did what he did, she wasn't sure she could forgive him for this one just yet.

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David scanned through the Fairy Tale book as he waited for his mother to finish yelling at his granddad for whatever she was mad at him about. He was probably going to be late for school….

So he made use of his time, he scanned through the book and stared at the list that his mother had made over who was who. The curse weakened with everybody they helped…so he looked in the book for their next person. His mom didn't really want him to help…but he could do surveillance at least…his mom had done it growing up of course but now that things were changing, behaviors might start changing too. She would need to know if that happened.

That way, she didn't have to worry about him getting hurt. He was just watching!

"Hello David."

He froze at the voice and he felt his stomach clench.

He knew who that was.

David looked up to see Regina standing at the passenger door.

And the smile she gave him didn't reach her eyes…which meant that he was in trouble.


	93. Chapter 93

David felt his heart start beating rapidly in his chest as the evil queen stared down at him. His hands closed tightly on the book as if it would protect him. Regina wouldn't spare him because he was a child. She had thrown Grace across the border and then down into the mines with Maleficent and she didn't care if it would kill Grace. That was just to get back at Jefferson.

His mom was the savior and she and his granddad had actively been stopping her plans since they got there. What would that mean for him?

This was his chance to be brave…to stand up for her and tell her off like his mom and grandpa did but he was still just ten years old and she was a grown woman who wouldn't think twice about hurting him. He needed to look brave in front of her but he was aware that he was shaking.

"And why aren't you in school?"

David didn't buy her friendly talk, "My mom's going to be out at any minute. She won't want you here."

"Well, I don't want to be here David. But with the curse breaking, secrets are going to come out. Secrets about me that no one else knows about but the ones that have been awake. But others…those secrets will stay quiet forever. Because those that know about it will hide the truth. Except for me and no one will listen to me."

She was trying to trick him and he wouldn't fall for it, "I'm going to honk the horn if you don't leave. And they'll find you here."

"I know about how your mother murdered the sheriff."

David tensed as those words left Regina's mouth. He didn't remember much about Graham. His memories were faint at best. He remembered the man smiling at him. He remembered once he was sitting in his lap and there was another small memory where he was perched on Graham's stomach while he and his mom were laying on a picnic blanket just enjoying the sun. He remembered bouncing on the man's stomach and he remembered his mother laughing…

They didn't speak too much about Graham around David. He knew the man had died. He knew that it hadn't been natural. He knew that when it was brought up, both his mom and dad grew quiet for their own reasons. Sometimes his mother left the room and he heard her crying. His dad never got jealous over his mom's sadness

"My mom didn't kill anyone," he told her, "You're lying."

"Oh but I'm not. They stole from me. They decided that they were going to restore his heart without doing adequate research and they shoved it in his chest without knowing what they were doing. Because your mother wanted what I had. She awakened him to a world full of hiding and double personalities just so she wouldn't feel bad about the fact that he wanted in her pants."

David flinched at her talking about…that with him. He knew about that stuff already, his dad had sat him down once and told him. He had been very frank about how it all worked…while stuttering and blushing the entire time. Even if his dad hadn't told him, he would've had some idea. You didn't live with his parents and not have some idea of what they did in their private time. His granddad once said that they were devoted to being in love with the other and they had no problem demonstrating that. They couldn't show it in public so during family gatherings or in the evenings, they would hold hands and kiss and when they sat there watching TV or the fire…his dad's arm was always around his mother's shoulders.

Once his granddad said her relationship with Graham was completely different but equally as loving. David didn't understand that. It must've been one of those adult things.

"My mom loved Graham."

"Your mother only wanted him because I had him first," Regina sneered, "And she never had an interest in getting together with anyone until she had you. Graham was nothing more to her than a roll in the bed to spite me and someone to be responsible for the illegitimate unwanted bastard child she was forced to birth and return here for when she was done running away from her duties like a coward-."

David reached over and slammed his open palm against the wheel of the car. The noise startled him; he hadn't expected it to be so loud. Regina jumped backwards as it sounded and he didn't let off it until the door opened and his mother raced down the steps. The minute she saw Regina at the passenger window, she took off across the yard at an almost inhuman speed. Regina tried to dodge her but his mom grabbed Regina and slammed her against the car. Regina tried to crawl away but Emma was on her in an instant.

She punched Regina once before her granddad reached them. He wrapped his arms around Emma and pulled her off. Emma wouldn't let go of Regina. She was determined to cause Regina as much pain as possible so when he was successful in pulling her off, his mom had gripped two handfuls of Regina's hair and was taking her with them.

Despite his fear and his tears, David found his voice, "Mom!"

At the sound of her son's voice, Emma stopped the attack and let Regina scramble away. They watched as Regina stood and straightened out her clothes. She had a blackening eye and a bloody nose and lip but she acted like she was hardly injured.

"No worries Ms. Gold," Regina said, "Just saying hi to your boy."

"Stay away from my son!" Emma screamed and struggled against her father.

"Don't show how weak you are, sheriff. It just reveals to your enemy how they can hit you hardest. I thought your father would've taught you that lesson since he learned it the hard way."

For a second, David thought that his granddad would let his mother go. The expression on his face was something unlike what David had ever seen. IT was so angry and so twisted that it scared David.

Regina straightened her coat, "Good day."

When Regina's back was turned, Emma let her defenses fall and she started sobbing. Her father wrapped his arms around her and whispered comfort that David could not hear.

David was out of the car within seconds and he was by his mother's side, "Mom?"

Emma grabbed him; he saw the fear plainly on her face, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"What did she say to you?"

David was quiet. He didn't want to tell her…not when she was like this.

"Emma-," his grandfather whispered.

"What did she say?!" Emma demanded.

He shook his head, "Please don't make me tell you!"

Emma's face twisted in grief and she put her hands on the sides of his face, "She's a liar David…and she's vicious. She'll do anything to tear our family apart, you know that, right?"

"I know," David whispered.

She pulled him into a tight embrace and even though he was ten…he clung to her much like he did when he was a child. He barely felt his grandfather wrap his arms around the both of them.

Emma sobbed as he pulled back, "I swear nothing's going to happen to you."

"You can't promise that," David whispered.

"I can try," she took his hands

They sat there for a second and David watched as his mother gasped with pain and put her hand on her stomach.

Her father immediately became alarmed, "Emma?"

"Daddy…," she whimpered and then looked up at him in a way that reminded David of a scared child more than an adult. She clutched her stomach and gasped as another wave of pain hit her "Papa…something's wrong."


	94. Chapter 94

Jefferson slammed into someone's bumper on the way to the hospital, but he did not stop. He parked at the entrance of his destination and climbed out. No one would need the ambulance drop off, no one ever got hurt.

Then he remembered that the curse was weakening and things were moving again.

But then he decided that Emma was far more important than the lot of them. If something happened they could park behind him and make a few extra steps.

Something was wrong with the baby.

'Something is wrong with the baby' was all Jefferson needed to hear over the phone before he booked it to the hospital at speeds that would be frowned on normally. This time he ignored it, the only law was his wife and she might be having a miscarriage.

He saw his father-in-law in the corner of his eye but he ignored him and strode right towards the doors where he knew his wife was. The blinds were down, he couldn't see into the room…and that scared him more.

"Hey, hey, hey," Dr. Whale rushed over and stopped him, "You can't go in there."

"I have every right to go in there."

"And who are you?" Dr. Whale narrowed his eyes.

Jefferson hesitated for a millisecond; they were still trying to keep their relationship secret for Grace's safety. Regina wouldn't hesitate to hurt her or her family as evidenced by her previous actions. Jefferson always felt like a coward for the secrecy. His wife wanted to protect him and her step daughter and he understood that but he felt like he was always hiding behind her when he didn't have to be. And while this wasn't the most opportune time to reveal their relationship, he didn't exactly have a choice, "I'm Emma's husband."

Everyone in the waiting room looked up in shock. It was so quiet that he could hear a pin drop. Rumpelstiltskin just looked grim.

Even Dr. Whale seemed taken aback, "W-well, that is…um…we're doing what we can for your wife-."

"Is she having a miscarriage?" Jefferson demanded.

Dr. Whale was quiet, "It's looking that way."

Jefferson felt like he'd been slammed in the stomach. His wife…his baby…how was he supposed to comfort her after that?

He didn't know what he was supposed to do! His mom had had two miscarriages that Jefferson could remember, and he wasn't sure she ever really recovered from them. When she got pregnant after the two, the house was always plunged in such a stressful silence as they waited to see if she could deliver the baby without losing it.

The tears surfaced, but he forced them back, "Can I see her?"

"Not yet," Dr. Whale told him, "We're doing everything we can but…it's not looking good."

He closed his eyes; he and Emma wanted this baby. They lay there at night, excitedly chatting about things like names and possible futures for the child.

Why was it so hard to achieve some modicum of happiness? Was he still being punished for his part in Regina's corruption? Hadn't he and his family been punished enough?

"Do what you can," Jefferson whispered, but he knew it was probably useless.

He turned to Rumpelstiltskin as soon as the doctor was gone, "How?"

"Jefferson-."

"How did this happen?" he demanded, "Something was bothering her last night, she got up and she didn't come back to bed. What happened?"

Rumpelstiltskin looked guilty, "We had a fight. I gave David Nolan his false memories."

Jefferson cursed, "You're responsible for this?!"

Jefferson never really hated Rumpelstiltskin for all the atrocities he committed. This changed in that instant. This was his fault? He did something that he had no reason to do and Emma and the baby were suffering because of it.

Rumpelstiltskin looked away, "David was in the car and he was approached by Regina."

"What?" Jefferson demanded.

"Emma attacked her."

"Did Regina hit her stomach?"

"Regina never got a chance to land a punch," he told him, and Jefferson could almost detect a bit of pride there, "But when Regina left was when she started feeling pain. I rushed her here as fast as I could and I called you."

In a fit of rage, Jefferson kicked the chair next to him. His wife was having a miscarriage and it was all thanks to her father and her enemy. Normally Emma could handle each one separately but put them together…added with the stress of protecting everyone and a baby on the way…

He wanted to take a gun and end this Regina problem right now but then he noticed that his son wasn't there with them…and there wasn't any possibility that Rumpelstiltskin would just take him on to school, "Where is David?"

"In the bathroom, eh was sobbing and he refused to be comforted. I sent him in there to dry his eyes and I was about to follow him in there when you came."

Jefferson turned and went to the bathroom before Rumpelstiltskin even finished. He found his son in hiding an unlocked stall. His eyes were red and puffed up and his face was blotched and wet.

Immediately Jefferson squatted down and his son embraced him. Jefferson held him as tightly as he could for a few seconds.

"It's my fault," David sobbed.

Jefferson pulled back, "David…this isn't your fault."

He was shaking, visibly shivering, "I wasn't brave. I-I honked the horn to get mom and Granddad out there and I knew what mom might do and I knew she was pregnant. I wasn't brave-"

Jefferson felt his heart break at his son's despair, "David, no. You did the right thing. You know what Regina is capable of. You know how dangerous she is. You couldn't have stood up to her by yourself; you're still very much a child still. You needed adults who would protect you and you did the right thing."

"Mom might lose the baby because of me."

"No son," he wiped his boy's tears away, "She might lose it because of Regina. Not you. You couldn't have known that your mother would attack Regina and you couldn't have known that she might start- bad things might happen to the baby. You protected yourself. It's not your fault, David. It would never be your fault."

"And then I wouldn't tell mom what Regina said-."

Jefferson bristled, "What did Regina say?"

David was quiet, "Don't tell mom."

"I can't promise that, you know we're honest about everything to each other. That's how our relationship is."

David bit the inside of his cheek and wouldn't talk, so Jefferson knew he had to become the stern parent, "Either you tell me, or you tell your grandfather."

Telling Rumpelstiltskin what Regina said seemed to scare David more than just telling him, "She said you all murdered Graham."

Jefferson flinched, "Is that all she said?"

"She said mom only woke him up so that she could marry him and get what Regina had to spite her…," David hesitated at the last part, "And she said I was illegitimate and mom didn't want me."

Jefferson could snap Regina's neck right there as he looked at the pain in his son's eyes, "Okay David, look at me."

David did so.

"You were wanted, do you understand me? You were a surprise, and you were unexpected but you were wanted and you most certainly were NOT a mistake. I'm going to be honest with you, there was a small time that your mother considered giving you up for adoption but that wasn't because she didn't want you. It wasn't because she knew she was going to be coming home after she was in jail and she did _not _want this life for you. It was a time that she was angry with your grandfather and she didn't want him near you and she most certainly didn't want Regina near you either."

"Then why didn't she give me up?"

"Because she knew that one day we would be leaving this world…and she couldn't bear to leave you behind. And because she had heard stories about adoption and foster homes that scared her and she didn't want to risk that for you. And she hoped that maybe if she brought you home…the wounds between she and her father would heal. I swear to you David…you were wanted and you are very much loved. As far as your legitimacy goes…that's also a lie perpetrated by Regina, an illegitimate child is the child of unwed parents and you and I both know that's impossible because you are _my _son and I wanted you to be my son. It was what I wanted as soon as I married your mother."

Jefferson wasn't really sure if him marrying Emma and adopting David now made David 'legitimate'. Not that it mattered because it truly didn't but David looked touched at his words, "W-what about Graham?"

Jefferson took a breath, "David, you know that your mother loved and cared about Graham, right? She wasn't interested in him to get back at Regina."

"She said that mom was only interested so that I would have a dad too."

Jefferson sighed, "She'll try anything won't she? If that were true, Emma would not have waited four years to marry me after Graham died. And she wouldn't have been reluctant to let me adopt you until she was certain that I'd be a good father for you. You having a father was always important to Emma but that wasn't the only reason she was looking for a husband."

And then with a deep breath, Jefferson explained to him how Graham died. He…skirted around the rape that Regina committed on Graham because there were some things that David didn't need to know about yet, but he explained that Emma knew it was wrong to be with Graham while he had false memories. And he explained why they brought him back and why it was important for the cause overall to see how a double personality worked and how to help them…and then he explained how his mother and the Huntsman came to love each other after they worked through their issues and how he died.

"It wasn't murder," Jefferson told him, "We did the research and it was accurate…for our world at least. But sometimes magic is unpredictable here. Your mother wanted to save him, and she did for a time….or maybe in her own way she did save him completely…I don't know."

David was quiet for a bit. He opened his mouth to say something and then he closed it. Finally, he moved towards his father. Jefferson wrapped his arms around his boy and they sat there for a few minutes.

"It wasn't your fault," Jefferson finally told him, "It wasn't."

"Is she going to lose the baby?" he whispered.

Jefferson felt his heart break, "I don't know."

And David started sobbing again. Jefferson felt his own tears fall.

Finally, they pulled back and washed their faces and walked outside the room.

Rumpelstiltskin's hands were white against the cane. He was lost in his own little world. He didn't notice them until they came up, "David."

David went to hug his grandfather and Rumpelstiltskin embraced him. The only time Jefferson had ever seen him show tenderness was to his daughter and grandson. It was still jarring to see after all these years.

Dr. Whale came into the waiting room; Jefferson felt his heart slam into his chest. He really didn't want to hear the confirmation…he really didn't want it to be real.

"W-we- I don't know how…but…we stopped the miscarriage."

Jefferson felt his heart lift at the news. His baby was going to be okay? They dodged this one? No. that was impossible…. "Y-you're sure?"

"Yes, we detected a healthy heartbeat. I want to keep your w-wife here overnight but I think…the baby will be fine."

Jefferson brushed past him and raced to the room. Emma was in a hospital gown…the crappy ones that open in the back and reveal everything.

Emma looked so tired…and so small and old when she looked up and saw him. Emma was capable of protecting herself most of the time but every day, Jefferson felt his own urge to protect his wife.

Emma managed a weak smile, "Finally…someone that's seen my nether regions that I like looking at my nether regions. It seems like everyone in the hospital has gotten a look down there"

It was a weak joke…and he moved forward and sat next to her on the bed, "David told me how it happened."

Emma gave him such a guilty look, "She was standing by my car with David in it. And all I could think about….all I could think about was what she did to Grace and I couldn't…I couldn't control myself. What else was I supposed to do? She was talking to David! And the curse will be breaking and I was so scared that-"

He wrapped his arms around his wife and she clung to him, "It's okay, the baby's safe."

"It's my fault," she sobbed, "I was so stupid."

"It was Regina's," he repeated, "Not yours."

"I knew I was pregnant and I attacked her anyway."

He rubbed her back. If he were in Emma's place, he couldn't say he wouldn't have done the same, "You were protecting David."

"I should've let my dad handle it."

"What was he going to do?" Jefferson asked, "Hobble after her, waving his cane?"

Emma gave a small chuckle at that, and then she grew serious and looked up at him, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Jefferson. There could've been another way and now everyone knows about the baby and I've endangered all of us."

"We were in danger anyway," he whispered and held her, "But now I guess we can actually be affectionate to each other publicly since our relationship has now been outed; which will be a blessing and a curse."

"Yeah," she whispered.

"Mom?"

They both looked up as David edged into the room. Jefferson watched as Emma's face lit up and she held out her hands. David moved towards her and he let her embrace him.

"Is the baby really okay?" David asked.

"It looks like it," she said with a small smile.

Jefferson watched the interaction and rubbed his wife's lower back.

Emma cupped her son's face, "Are you okay?"

He nodded, "She didn't hurt me."

_Well, physically at least, _Jefferson thought to himself and rubbed a hand through his son's hair. He was just trying to be brave for his mother's sake.

Emma looked doubtful but she just embraced her son anyway, "It's okay David. We'll be okay."

How much of that she actually believed, Jefferson didn't know. But he embraced his wife and son and whispered the same sentiments.

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It was an hour later before Jefferson felt it was time to take David home to get some rest. Emma doubted they'd go all the way to the house though. They'd probably go to her dad's house. David still had his room there and Jefferson and Emma shared hers when they went to visit him.

Jefferson would want to be close in case something happened.

Emma dozed on and off. She felt drained and exhausted but she was still very alert. The waiting room had heard Jefferson's announcement…and so Regina would know that Emma had married Jefferson and carried their baby. It was one of Emma's worst fears come to light and she kept having nightmares about Regina standing over her bed with a knife.

So when she was awake, she stared at the machine monitoring the baby's heartbeat…just to make sure the baby was still alright.

Emma put her hand over her slightly bulging stomach, her baby shouldn't have to suffer for Emma's stupidity and it nearly had. Emma wasn't sure what else she could've done when she saw Regina standing with her son…but there could've been another way, there had to be. Emma shouldn't have put herself in a position where either child could get hurt and now everyone was going to know about her relationship to Jefferson and the pregnancy…

And that put Grace in all sorts of danger.

Emma ruined everything because of her temper and if something bad happened then it was going to be on her head. She didn't care what Jefferson said, this was all on account of her. Regina poked her with a stick…and like an idiot, Emma obliged and now everything could be ruined and people could be hurt.

A knock interrupted her thoughts and she turned over to see her father standing there, "Dad?"

"Hey," he whispered and gave her a weak smile, "How are you feeling?"

Emma sat up. She tried to summon the anger she felt for her father earlier but it felt like such a lifetime ago that she couldn't, "What time is it?"

"Well past visiting hours, I imagine," he whispered and placed a change of clothes on the nightstand, "So that you can be warm."

Emma stared up at him, "Thank you, dad."

She saw that his hands were shaking as he sat on the edge of the bed, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Emma closed her eyes tightly, "Then why did you do it?"

He was silent, "Because you're the only good thing that's happened to me in a long long time…and the idea of losing you is something that terrifies me. When you ran away, you were alone for about a year before you met Neal…multiply that by 300 years and …Emma, it's been a desperately lonely life. And I'm aware that it's my fault it's been that way. It also does not excuse what I did to your biological father. I thought I was going to lose you and I panicked."

Emma sat up, "You are NOT going to lose me. Dad, just because I'm curious about Charming…or I want to know him or whatever doesn't mean that I'm not going to count you as my dad. You are. And I love you. I wish you could understand that."

"Because I'm not worth that love."

"There are far worse people than you who get love and adoration every day."

"No one's worse than me," he whispered, "Not even Regina."

"That's debatable," she muttered and took his hands, "Dad…you're still my father and you always will be. Nothing will ever change that. You don't have to…screw anyone over or compete for my love, because you have it."

"Why?" he asked, "I just don't understand."

"You don't have to understand it, you just have to accept that I love you," she told him simply.

His jaw trembled, "I nearly made you lose the baby."

"Dad," she shook her head. She blamed Regina for that but she was also aware that her father's actions hadn't helped, "No."

His eyes filled with tears, "I'm sorry."

Emma pulled her father into an embrace. She noticed that he was careful with how he handled her. Jefferson and David and her mother had been the same when she came to visit after school had let out. They treated her like she was a porcelain doll that might break.

"I forgive you," she whispered.

He pulled back, she wasn't referring to the baby and he knew it. She was referring to Charming and what he'd done to him.

Emma should be angry at him longer…but this was not time to hold a grudge. War was brewing and she needed all her family and allies intact.

Her father nodded, "Thank you."

Emma drew in a short breath and let it out slowly. The drama was over…they needed to regroup and strategize, "Right then….so…let's figure out a way that we can fix this."


	95. Chapter 95

Emma was released the next day and she promised Doctor Whale, 3 nurses, Ruby, Granny, Jefferson, David, Leroy, and her parents that she would take it easy.

She just didn't realize how boring it was.

She and Jefferson normally would've found naked ways to pass the time she supposed but he was absolutely terrified to do that now. When Emma asked if she and Jefferson could still have sex, Whale stuttered for a second at her bluntness to the question and said they could but might want to wait.

He was clearly awkward about it. He used to give her her shots as a baby. She wouldn't know it if Whale didn't always tell her that her father's glares aged him ten years and held all sorts of threats and promises on what would happen if Whale caused Emma unnecessary harm.

And here she was married with a kid. He was clearly feeling his age…as far as what he thought his age was. Emma still wasn't sure how that worked…

But it didn't really matter since it was going to be ending soon, but Emma really wanted to know how that worked. How they went for years watching her grow up and never question why they didn't either. She wanted to understand the haze and how it felt. She had never asked Graham, Graham didn't want to think about it.

Emma decided to take the weekend off and just be on call. She wouldn't even think of getting up unless it was an actual emergency. She planned to spend the morning in the bed; they could catch up on some movies they kept promising themselves they'd watch.

Jefferson was a complete doll; he had surprised her with breakfast in bed. Cinnamon pancakes and eggs and hash browns and orange juice…

Emma would kill for a coffee but it wasn't good for the little one.

Jefferson set the tray on her legs, Emma smiled at him, "You do not make me breakfast in bed unless it's my birthday, Valentine's Day, mother's day, or our anniversary."

"Or when you're sick," he tugged her hair, "Which barely happens."

He pulled out a sunflower that he'd concealed behind his back. Emma burst out into a smile when she saw it. It was Jefferson's favorite flower. He said it reminded him of Emma because it brightened his day when he saw one.

It was cheesy but it was still incredibly romantic.

Emma smiled and gave him a happy kiss which he returned, "David get off to school okay?"

"He didn't want to go but I talked him into doing a half day since it's Friday," he shrugged, "I didn't want to, but he had a test…and I wanted him to get his mind off what happened yesterday."

"And education is important," Emma reminded him with a mouthful of pancake.

"Eh," Jefferson shrugged, "I had an education that went up as far as fifth grade according to this world. Taught myself everything else and never had a problem."

"Put this isn't the old world and when we go back home, the old world still isn't going to be the old world, everything's going to be changed," Emma told him, "And you thought education was important too otherwise you wouldn't have taught yourself more after you finished your schooling."

"No, I just wanted to sound smarter than everyone else," he patted his wife's leg and got up to turn on The Mummy. When it was playing, he slipped back in the covers and stole a bit of hash browns from her tray, "Oh! I did do amazing."

Emma smiled and playfully nudged him with her elbow, "Don't pat yourself on the back or anything."

He playfully snuck a quick peck on the cheek. Emma grabbed his neck and gave him a kiss on the lips. Thank gods, for him because she needed this, she needed these light happy moments that he went out of his way to provide for her. He didn't want to talk about yesterday any more than she did.

It was times like yesterday when Emma would gladly kill Regina. She almost had. The only reason she didn't was because she wanted Regina to face the full consequences for the things she did. She wanted Regina to look everyone in the eye as they were completely aware and know that she lost.

It seemed Regina was aware that day was coming as well. She didn't seem to think she could win…not completely…so she was going to chip away at Emma and try to take away as much as she could.

But Emma wasn't going to think about that. She had spent most of the day previous terrified her baby was dying or dead and her dad had gone pretty much most of the night talking to her. They talked about how they could fix the mess with Snow, Abigail and Charming.

They had a few plans, nothing concrete but they made plans. Emma was released the next morning.

Emma finished her breakfast and cuddled next to her husband on the bed.

Jefferson rubbed her back gently; he was wearing his wedding ring now that everyone knew. Emma had put hers on the minute she got home. She hoped her hands didn't swell up, because she was so happy she could show up this gorgeous ring now.

"I forgot how much Brendan Fraser yells in this," Jefferson muttered.

"He does yell a lot," Emma agreed and rubbed her stomach subconsciously, "I guess one usually does when a mummy is chasing you."

Jefferson scoffed, "Just another Tuesday for me."

"And that's why I married you and not him," Emma teased

Jefferson ran a finger over her stomach, "I can't wait for him to kick."

"So you think it's a boy?"

"Well, it seems traditional for the husband to want the son and the wife to want the daughter….and I have a son and a daughter so we already have one of each…nothing wrong with wanting a boy."

"What should we call him?" Emma asked.

Jefferson tensed, "I don't want to name him after my father. My father sold me to Rumpelstiltskin just so he could feed the family. I can't…I don't want that."

Emma saw the grief in his eyes. That was the first betrayal Jefferson had ever experienced and it was still the most painful one. His father died before Jefferson could really get closure.

"Well," Emma rubbed her belly, "I've already named David after my dads' so…we're going to have to think of something."

"What if it's a girl?" Jefferson brushed a knuckle down her belly and stared at it like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"I was thinking about naming her Alice."

Jefferson looked up, "You'd want to name her after my mother?"

Emma shrugged, "Well when you tell me about your family…the rare times that you do…you always have good things to say about her since she didn't want you to have the life you did. ….but I want my mom's name to be in the middle though. Alice Snow sounds way better than Snow Alice."

She watched Jefferson's eyes brighten and he gave her a gentle tender kiss, "I love you, I think that'd be a beautiful name."

"I love you too and of course it's a good name, I thought of it."

"Well," Jefferson settled in, "Let's focus on boy's names."

And while the movie they had promised to watch played in the background, Jefferson and Emma entertained themselves by coming up with some of the most odd names they could think of.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The time for Emma's plan came later that evening when there was a knock on the door. Emma was curled up with David on the couch helping him with his homework while Jefferson went to answer it.

There had been gifts and casseroles being left for them all day. Her father had phoned earlier and told them that the marriage was all anyone was talking about. Several people had ventured into the pawn shop to ask him how long they'd been married…subtly of course. They asked other things like…what kind of casseroles and gifts Emma and Jefferson might like. Because that was apparently what one did when they found out someone they knew got married.

Jefferson reluctantly allowed some people in but most he saw at the door and told them Emma was resting and he'd accept their gifts. Jefferson had never seen so many casseroles! He supposed there was nothing other than that for a 'Congratulations on your marriage/glad your baby didn't miscarry' dish.

So Emma didn't really think too much about it when someone knocked on the door. She only looked up when Jefferson walked through with the two visitors. Emma sat up straighter on the couch, "Mr. and Mrs. Nolan! You got my phone call!"

"Yeah," Mr. Nolan felt a bit awkward standing there and Kathryn was looking all around the room with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry," Kathryn apologized, "I always wanted to know what it was like in here. Your house is completely beautiful."

"Thank you," Emma said graciously and felt bad for the woman. She had such a tender smile towards Emma's biological father and she had no idea that it would only end in heartbreak.

Jefferson looked at Kathryn, "Perhaps I can offer you some tea?"

"Yes," Kathryn said and gestured to the dish, "Perhaps you can show me where to put this."

"Oh honey look," Jefferson nodded to the dish, "A casserole!"

Jefferson led Kathryn out of the room. Emma straightened her shirt as her biological father looked at her and checked her hair. IT was a complete mess. She hadn't brushed it today; she just threw it up in a messy ponytail.

Emma rested her hand on her son's hair, "David…why don't you go help your father?"

David looked at her, " Do I have to?"

Emma shot him a look and he immediately moved to go do what he was told.

Her father sat on the edge of the couch and looked completely awkward, "So…a baby."

"Yeah," Emma smiled down at her stomach and looked up, "Second one."

"Congratulations," ho nodded.

"I hear congratulations are in order for you too, you got your memories back"

She shuddered as she said it.

"Yeah," Mr. Nolan cleared his throat, 'It's just…awkward still…"

"They don't feel like they're yours?"

He gave her a stunned look, "That's…exactly how it feels, yeah."

Emma bit her lip. Regina might have thought she won in nearly causing Emma to lose the baby but this gave Emma the opportunity she needed, "I have an opportunity for you."

"Uh-oh," Mr. Nolan joked a bit, "I hear that if a Gold offers you an opportunity, to run away."

"Yeah…that's my dad," she shrugged, "They're right.

"What could you possibly offer me?"

"Well," Emma leaned forward, "As you…have probably heard, I had a near incident yesterday with the baby and….my doctor has made it very clear that he would like me to start taking it easy. Which is near impossible because of my work."

"Yeah, you're the sheriff."

Emma gave a half smile, "Something like that. Anyway, my father and my husband have threatened to take turns sitting on my legs if I keep going at this whole…_sheriffing _business by myself so…how would you like to come on as a deputy?"

David stared at her, "Are you serious?"

"You went…over a whole night wandering around when you woke up even though you spent ….a very long time in a coma. I could use someone with that sort of stamina."

_And I can keep an eye on you and piss Regina off at the same time. _

"I don't know anything about being a deputy."

"Well, once you get trained it's easy; I was more or less a deputy at 15."

"Fifteen?"

"Well, I was more an office clerk and how I got to be that….well…that's a story for another time but when the sheriff before me hired me on…he taught me to be a deputy. It's not too busy…"

He was still hesitant, so she added, "We have dental."

He gave a small grin at that, "I'd have to talk to my wife."

"Yeah, I should hope so," she muttered, "I hope you do accept because there are some things I need to do in the next week or so and someone has to be in the sheriff's office right now"

"Oh," he cleared his throat, "Okay, I'll talk to Kathryn about it."

"Yeah," Emma stood when he did, "That's all I ask."

Jefferson and Kathryn came in soon after that and they all made awkward small talk around the tea kettle.

Emma and Jefferson were getting ready for bed that evening when she got the call to say that David Nolan had talked to Kathryn and accepted her offer.

"Well," Jefferson said, "That all went better than expected."

"I doubt it'll be like that for long," Emma muttered and crawled next to him on the bed, "In two days, she's found that I'm married, pregnant, incredibly happy and I just turned what could be a disadvantage into an advantage by bringing my biological father to work…she's not going to let those victories stand."

"That makes me worried for Grace," he told her.

"I know," Emma rubbed his arms, "That's what I worry about too."

He was quiet for a second and then grinned, "You're incredibly happy

"Indeed I am," she kissed him and then took his hands, "Jefferson, there's something I need to talk to you about."

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1 Week Later.

Emma's back was hurting as she drove the yellow bug down the road. The ache had set into her lower back an hour ago and it spread. She was going to need a bubble bath when she got home.

Her phone rang and without taking her eyes off the road, she answered it, "Hello?"

"A-are you talking on the phone and driving?" she heard Jefferson's concern on the other end of the line.

"Hands free device," she told him, "Picked it up here."

"Hm," she heard him say, "Odd."

"This world is full of wonders," she muttered, "I also went grocery shopping here…and got some new clothes and I think you'll really like a few of the numbers I got."

"Oh, sounds sexy."

"Better do it before I can't see my feet anymore," she teased.

"So, did you get it?"

Emma looked down at the golden egg that held the magic; fresh out of the storage unit she'd hidden it in in Boston. She wasn't planning to use it but she wanted it close with her before she was so pregnant she couldn't sit in the same spot for long periods of time, "Yeah, I got it."

She heard her husband's silence on the other end of the line. He had promised to respect her wish of not using it yet (Like Emma even KNEW what she'd be doing) but he didn't like it. At least now he understood that she didn't like it any more than he did, "Just be careful coming home."

"I will," she promised, "I love you."

"I love you too" he told her, "Be safe."


	96. Chapter 96

**The Night Previous**

It had been a long drive and Emma ached when she got out of the yellow Volkswagen. Emma checked in with the office before she went home, nothing new was going on like she suspected….David Nolan was catching on wonderfully. So Emma went home to where her husband was waiting for her. He showed her the way to a nice hot bubble bath.

Her man was so thoughtful.

"If you're worried about me using that egg and telling Rumpelstiltskin, I'm not going to," he whispered to her, "I'm not going to give Regina any sort of power. Not now, not while you're…."

Emma looked up at him and kissed his bare shoulder, it must be hard for him….trying to balance the ability to protect all his kids…while knowing that in choosing to protect one, he was hurting the other. She didn't envy him….she wished that there was something different that she could do to save his daughter. She wished she could learn to control her magic and just…cure everyone. But her father refused to help her with that…he didn't want her to go down the way of his other pupils.

"It won't be much longer," she promised.

There wasn't anger in his voice, just sadness, "It's been long enough."

I know," she whispered and kissed him again

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**Present Day**

Emma and Jefferson agreed that neither one was taking the egg out of the house until it was time. They wanted it close to them when they hid it and what better place than in the house?

What better place than in plain sight?

Or as close to plain sight as they both would allow.

Emma held the hat in her lap and watched her husband slip the egg inside it and covered it with purple silk. From the angle they would set it in the display case, it hid the egg.

"Thank you," she whispered when he took it from her lap, "For…supporting me as you have….I know that you don't agree completely with everything I've done….with some of the hard decisions I've had to make and I just want to thank you for putting up with me anyway."

"I only don't agree with some of them because it's our daughter's safety on the line, if it was anyone else's child but ours then I would think it was a sacrifice that was unfortunate but best for all. And if that makes me a horrible person then fine…you married a horrible person."

Emma ignored most of the rant. She was used to him not caring about these people the way she did. She had his support in helping them and he would help her save them if she asked him to but…if he was the savior instead of her then they were in trouble. Although sometimes Emma did wonder if she cared about them because she honestly cared or because she was the savior and she had to, "_Our _daughter?"

He bit the inside of his cheek, "I would like you to consider adopting Grace."

"Well you know that I'm considering it, but everything boils down to what that relationship is going to be between us when we heal her," Emma told him, "And whether or not she wants me and whether or not I can be a good mother to her."

"You're a good mother," he whispered and kissed her cheek.

"Yeah, because I had a lot of help," she protested and followed him.

"A lot of people have a lot of help," he reminded her, "Your dad had plenty of help as well, you're still a good mom and I'm an excellent father. I would almost say completely perfect."

Emma smiled and nudged him. There was sadness in his voice but she knew he was trying to make her feel better by trying to be playful.

She stared at the hat that hid the egg and sighed, "Magic's in town."

"It is," he confirmed.

Emma looked at her husband, "This could backfire horribly."

"Well, we'll just hope that it doesn't," he told her and kissed her, "Not until we're ready at least."

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Rumpelstiltskin waited for things to die down before he went to go see Regina. The town, who hadn't seen much action since Grace disappeared all those years ago, tackled the new 'scandal' like a group of sharks against a bleeding victim in the middle of the ocean.

There were speculations on how long they'd been married. Some guessed that Emma had married him once she found out she was pregnant. Others speculated that they'd been married for a lot longer than that as several people suddenly remembered they hadn't seen Emma's bug parked in Rumpelstiltskin's garage for a while now.

Sidney had his own theory. He asked if they had been married when Graham was alive and Graham died of a broken heart. Rumpelstiltskin could smell Regina all over that theory but he still grabbed the journalist by his tie, yanked him forward and whispered harshly that if that rumor EVER reached Emma then Rumpelstiltskin would put him in a plot right next to the sheriff.

And that was really the last inspiration Rumpelstiltskin needed to go seek out Regina.

"Oh," Regina sneered as he limped into her office. She gave no outward appearance of fear when he came in, "It's the father of the happy couple."

Rumpelstiltskin smirked viciously and went in for the kill, "Yes, fortunately Emma had her parent's approval when she chose who she wished to be married to. It's unfortunate that some of us in this room didn't have that."

Regina's sneer fell and he felt victorious that he struck that raw nerve, "It'll never last."

"On the contrary, they've hit their stride and have worked through their issues and are quite happy. Apparently in some cases, all you do need is love."

"It's not true love," she hissed.

"Funny, I'm certain your mother said the same thing as she danced around Daniel's corpse."

And there it was again. He didn't feel shame. Regina nearly cost him his grandchild and David, in part, still blamed himself. If this made her uncomfortable then good. He would pick and pick at her the same way she'd been doing to his family for years.

Regina cringed like she'd been slapped…she probably would've taken the slap. But he'd learned a long time ago that words hurt her more and so he enjoyed them, "You know what would be funny, Rumpelstiltskin? If that boy who knocked her up and abandoned her was Emma's true love, now wouldn't that just be awkward all around. She can never love Jefferson in the purest sense of the word because she'll always be soul bound to the man that betrayed hr. Or…one of them at least."

"The thing about love, _your majesty, _is that there are many variations of it. What Emma and Jefferson share is just one type that almost rivals true love in its passion and trust. It'd bring a tear in your eye to watch them. Whether or not Emma and Neal were true loves…if that even exists here is irrelevant. Like many others that have lost their true loves, Emma was able to move on. Don't be envious because you have not. Green is not a color that goes on your color wheel."

"You never _let _me move on!" she hissed.

"You could have moved on several times Regina, but the point is that you didn't want to."

Regina gave him a sharp look, "What are you doing here, Rumpelstiltskin?"

"My grandson blames himself for Emma nearly losing the baby," Rumpelstiltskin said, his hand tightened on the cane.

"I simply told him the truth as we all know it," Regina said, "And if Emma nearly lost the baby…well…then she shouldn't have attacked me. I wasn't a direct threat to your grandson, but talking is something that only civil people do so I can understand why it's beyond Emma's comprehension ability."

The urge shove the desk over on her to defend his daughter and grandchildren was too great but he kept his temper, "You're always a direct threat, Regina."

"You made me that way."

"You made yourself that way," he snapped, "But then again, blaming others is so much a pastime it might as well be a hobby with you."

"Is this your revenge?" Regina asked, "To waste my time?"

"No," Rumpelstiltskin looked at an apple. It looked good but he lost the taste for them a long time back, "You will stay away from my family."

"Oh this again," she muttered.

"You will stay away from Emma, David, her unborn child, Jefferson, Grace, her adopted parents, Mary Margaret and David Nolan, _please._"

"Oh, is Emma's real father classified as family now? I guess he might as well be because when she sees what a real father actually is, then she'll take him instead. Better make good with him while you can, Rumpelstiltskin or else you won't see Emma. She'll be over at Charming and Snow's place for dinners!"

He tried to ignore her preying on his insecurities. He was trying to work through them now that he'd given Charming his false memories back. It was a task easier said than done, but he was doing his best to behave now…so he wouldn't believe his child would abandon him. He was even considering therapy to work through his fears but…that would be a long ways off still.

"And if approach my family instead of them approaching you," he sneered at his humor, "Then you will punch yourself in the face….that way I know this is working. Please."

Regina's eyes widened and then narrowed, "You're not protecting the whole town?"

"Oh dearie, if I could do that then Emma wouldn't be needed," he said. Even though he wished he could keep her from endangering herself. But she fought one dragon already….she fights this dragon and it'd be over.

Sometimes he wished he hadn't adopted her…just so that he wouldn't have been forced to put her through this.

He stood and tossed the apple to Regina, "See you at the next council meeting your majesty. I suggest you don't approach any of my family…that'll end embarrassingly for you, I imagine."

He turned to leave; he honestly hoped she did though…for his own amusement.

"Rumpelstiltskin," Regina called out mockingly, "What is the lovebirds' home address? I'd like to know so that I can send them an apple basket…you know…congratulating them."

"Unless you want to get humiliated by having my daughter beat you down while pregnant, I wouldn't suggest it," he said back and left.

He hoped this 'please' deal would hold for a while.

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**2 Weeks Later**

It was nice to have someone in the station with her again. Emma hadn't realized how much she missed it until now. It got lonely when she was in here by herself all day. Now she had some company…now she had someone to bounce ideas off of and have conversations with that weren't her dad, her husband, her son, or a barely conscious Leroy.

It felt like things were changing for the better. It was little things mostly. Emma could wear her rings in public now…which made her happy because she was proud of it. It was a beautiful ring and it deserved to be shown off.

Her baby belly was starting to show. That really gave Emma some excitement. Jefferson and David were excited too. David had only ever seen Ashley pregnant and since she was always a blimp all his life…he couldn't really connect with it or understand it. Looking down and seeing the bump made the baby all that more real to her now and reality was setting in that she was going to be a mother.

And Emma and Jefferson also could be public about their relationship. There was just….something nice about being able to walk down the street with her arm around her husband's waist…or just holding his head or having a nice romantic dinner. They had kept their marriage a secret to keep from being scared or stressed at Regina knowing but it turned out that hiding things from her and the town was more stressful. They were relaxed now…and it felt like now that burden was gone; one of the walls that still remained between them could be torn down.

The walls weren't a bad thing. Every couple had walls and things they didn't share with the other. Jefferson and Emma were just trying to focus on tearing those down a little at a time

Emma looked up at David Nolan. He wasn't so bad…just indecisive and confused a lot. But he did what he was told. It didn't seem like her father…or Regina or whomever put a lot of thought into what his personality would be.

But he did his job well. There were no complaints on her end really.

Something was bothering him today though, he didn't have many moods, she learned these past two weeks. But as they sat at her desk going over reports, she could tell that something was wrong. His hands were shaking and he was fidgeting more than David did when he was bored AND in trouble, "You okay?"

"Yeah," he said quickly, "I'm…I'm fine. Just fine."

"Okay," Emma said doubtfully.

They spent a few more minutes getting things together when David finally gave an irritated sigh, "It's just that….Kathryn thinks that we should….I mean she hasn't said it but she's hinted at…well you're pregnant, you know what I mean."

Emma's eyes widened. Oh no…time was moving again and their bodies were no longer frozen. Emma couldn't help all those couples that were forced together because of the curse but she wasn't going to let it happen with this one, "Do you love her?"

"I don't…I don't know."

Emma raised an eyebrow. Good that bullet was dodged. She was going to have to reach into her father's bag of tricks to solve this problem. She already felt guilty for that. A savior shouldn't have to manipulate like this. But she was protecting them. She wasn't breaking up a marriage…this marriage didn't exist. She was doing nothing wrong by pushing her married mother and biological father back together and preventing Abigail from being hurt later.

"You shouldn't knock boots with your wife unless you're sure you love her," Emma started carefully.

"I remember loving her."

"That's not the same thing," Emma said, "I remember loving my son's biological father once but that certainly doesn't mean I do now. You shouldn't have sex with her until you're sure you love her and you shouldn't have sex with her while you still have greater feelings for Mary Margaret."

David Nolan nearly fell out of the chair when she said that, "What? No…I don't have…for Ms. Blanchard."

Emma fiddled with her pen and didn't look up from her file, "Yes you do. Everyone knows except for your wife."

His face went bright red, "That doesn't matter. I haven't even been near Mary Margaret since….before I got my memories back. I Mean we've talked…in public but we're never alone."

Emma knew about her mother's semi-annual 7:15 coffee runs, but she didn't bring it up, "You're just going to hurt Kathryn if you do this before you're ready. If I were you I would….separate from Kathryn for a bit….get ahold of your bearings. Figure out what you want. You're not going to do any good for your wife if you continue this relationship based on a lie. I would suggest that…you…take some time away. Figure it out…maybe take things slow with Kathryn…or…if you still have those feelings for Mary Margaret then maybe you should start on those. Because what you're doing now…it won't help anyone. Trust me…I kept…a lot of feelings and secrets harbored when I was with Neal…and while I don't regret David _at all, _I do regret…doing that before I was completely ready and completely honest with him. I would ask you not to make the same mistake because I like you…and I like Kathryn and I love Mary Margaret like she's my mother…and I wouldn't want to see any of you hurt."

"But it would hurt Kathryn if I left her."

"It'll hurt her more if you don't love her and let her think she had a chance when she might not," Emma grabbed her files and walked out of the office toward the file cabinet, "Just think about it."

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Rumpelstiltskin sat with Jefferson across from Emma as they waited for dinner. Emma had occupied herself with folding laundry as she told them what happened earlier that day.

"So, you told him to leave his fake wife and get with his real one?" Jefferson asked

"That's about the size of it," Emma muttered and folded one of her jeans.

Rumpelstiltskin rested his head in his hand and gave her an amused look, "I've committed a lot of atrocities dear, but I've never done that!"

"And what's that?" Emma asked, "The right thing?

"Regina's not going to let this one slide," Jefferson said, "This is in Snow White and Charming's favor."

"Well, I took care of that today as much as I could."

Emma looked up, "Another 'please' deal?"

"For now."

"She'll find a way around it. Send her minions after them or something."

"Well dear, I can't do all of it by myself," he said while putting his hand on his chest in an over exaggerated fashion.

Emma started throwing the folded laundry in the bin, "I don't expect you to."

The oven dinged and Jefferson went to go get it. Emma looked over her shoulder, "DAVID! DINNER!"

He trailed in a couple of seconds later. Emma looked him over, he'd been outside, she could smell the grass, "Did you wash your hands?"

"Not yet."

Emma grabbed his head, pulled him down, and kissed his cheek. She then placed her hand on the top of his head and manually turned him around, "Go wash up."

"Do you have a plan for what happens if David leaves Kathryn?" her father asked.

"Convince him to get with mom," Emma said simply, "Which will be a task easier said than done, I know."

Rumpelstiltskin looked at her and gave a small smile, "Your husband was right; Regina's not going to like you messing with her toys. Just be careful."

"I will," Emma promised and patted his hand, "I know what's at stake."

"Steak," Jefferson mused and set the food down at the center of the table and went to sit by his wife, "Now there's a meal I could get behind."

"Well maybe when I give birth, you can cook it for me," Emma teased and kissed him.

Jefferson gave her a shocked look, "How did my happiness suddenly become about you?"

Emma nudged him playfully, "Welcome to having a wife, honey."


	97. Chapter 97

Before Emma woke up, she could sense that it was a cool morning. It was a cool morning and her bed was warm. Her husband was snuggled up behind her and he wasn't snoring…this would be a great day to just call in and lie to David Nolan and say she needed a personal day and just…spend it in bed. She had a deputy now; she could get away with it.

But ultimately, she knew she couldn't. There was work to be done. However, that didn't stop her from wrapping the blanket up to her chin and snuggling against the pillow and her man's arm for as long as she could before she had to get up.

David could be late….his grandmother (and godmother) was his teacher and she would let him get away with murder usually. They could take a few moments of lateness.

Her phone beeped.

Emma gave a quiet moan and reached out of her nice warm covers to grab it. It was cold in the room and so she jerked her hand back under the comforter and looked at the phone.

_David wants a relationship with me. He left his wife. Meet me for breakfast. _

Emma started to reply, but then there was another text.

_David NOLAN. Not your David. _

Aw, she only gave him that advice yesterday! When she told him to think about it, she actually hoped he would think about it before acting!

Well, she got what she wanted; she couldn't complain….it was just a lot sooner than she was hoping. She might have to wing this a lot more than she thought she would. She had at least hoped he'd talk to Mary Margaret before he did anything rash.

But he did. And now mother was coming to daughter for advice on how to handle her real husband leaving his fake wife for her.

And Emma was going to have to get out of the bed, wasn't she?

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From what Emma understood, people liked small towns because of what they represented. Friendly neighbors, white picket fences, safety…

A place where everyone knew everyone. That's what people usually thought about.

But most people didn't realize that when a scandal hit a small town, everyone seemed to change

Emma was used to scandal. It was a scandal that she was adopted, because everyone knew it was illegal. It was a scandal when she ran away for two years. It was a scandal when the social workers brought her baby to him because she was in prison. It was a scandal when she returned. It was a scandal when she got with Graham and Emma was still riding out her latest scandal by being married and pregnant. If there was someone that provided the town with an endless source of entertainment, it was Emma.

Her mother, on the other hand, didn't do anything really scandalous. The closest thing she really did was befriend Mr. Gold. Mary Margaret was surrounded by rumors for that, but rumors didn't mean scandal. Now if anyone saw them going to her place after they got drunk that one time….now that would've been a scandal.

So she didn't really expect everyone to be staring at her as they sat in one of the booths at Granny's. It wasn't official that Nolan left Kathryn for her. But that's what everyone was guessing.

Even though this messed with her plan to sort of integrate them together, Emma was doing a victory dance in her head while she ate her eggs. She played completely casual while everyone stared at them. Mary Margaret kept catching their stares and every time she did so, she blushed.

Emma looked at her mother, "Stare back if they bother you."

"I don't want any trouble," she whispered.

So Emma turned around and glared and most of them into submission.

She turned back to her mother and grabbed a piece of bacon. She looked over to the bar where Jefferson and David were having breakfast together…their 'man time' she supposed.

"He wants to get together with me," Mary confessed.

Emma shrugged, "Then do it."

"Emma!" her mother shook her head, "No! He's married!"

Emma felt ashamed that she was talking her mother into helping ruin a fake marriage. Normally she would NEVER do this. She would never consider it. She had seen what Milah running off with another man did to her dad and so normally she would advise that people try to make the marriage work just for how she saw it affected her dad….well until he killed her.

She wouldn't do it normally so that's why she felt horrible for doing it now. Not even telling herself that that it wasn't a real marriage and it was only orchestrated by Regina made her feel any less guilty.

"If she cared about him, then she would've looked for him," Emma pointed out.

"Well, she didn't know!"

"If Jefferson and I got separated because we just started fighting, I would still want to make sure that he got to wherever he went safely," she said.

"Well not everyone is you and you can't say for sure that that's what would happen!" Snow brought up, "I mean…how would you feel if Jefferson was in a coma and he woke up and fell in love with someone else."

"He wouldn't," Emma took a sip from her juice, "Cause he'll know better."

"What if he has amnesia?"

Emma was stubborn, "Even if he didn't remember me, he would know to keep his eyes off other women!"

"This isn't making me feel better, Emma."

"Yeah, sorry," Emma muttered and took a sip of it, "Listen, Mary…you two have a connection. A connection…that he doesn't have with Kathryn and he seems to have tried. What would be wrong if you tried? I mean…if it doesn't work then you at least can't say you regret you never tried."

"And what if we try and it doesn't work out?"

"What if you don't try and it could've?" Emma pointed it back, "Mary….you trust me right? You trust my people instinct?"

"I guess so."

"I think…that if you and David stuck it out….and rode past the drama this could cause, which I know you can do. I think you could be happy. I think he could make you really happy if you put enough effort into it."

"I just don't want to pull all of everyone into a drama."

Emma shrugged, "Never stopped me."

"I'm not you," Mary said quietly.

"You don't have to be," Emma said, "But you can't be happy if you sit around and wait for it. And….David Nolan…would be a good match for you. But he's not going to try anything without your permission."

Mary blushed again, "I'll think about it."

Emma saw the determination in her eyes though; she knew she had her, "I think that would be a good idea."

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It was cold and the baby was making Emma tired, so she told David that she was going out on patrol…and by patrol, she meant her father's house.

She found him sitting there on the couch watching some Syfy B movie about gargoyles. Emma knew right off the bat that it had to be bad but her father seemed to find it immensely entertaining. More than likely for all the wrong reasons.

"I heard about Mr. Nolan leaving his lovely wife," her dad said without looking up at her, "I trust you have it under control?"

"Nothing I can't handle," she dropped her purse on the chair, "Yet."

"Hm," he mused, "Be careful dear. You don't keep a good handle on it; it'll spin out of control."

"Oh, I'm well aware," she sat on the couch next to him and wrapped her arms around his. She tucked her feet up under herself, "I don't know how you managed to manipulate as many lives as you did, I'm exhausted."

"Oh, you get used to the strain of making people your puppet after a century or so."

"Hm," Emma dug her face in his shoulder to block out the light, "Mind if I use you for a pillow for about twenty minutes to half an hour?"

Her father grabbed some chips, "Only if you don't snore."

Emma smiled against her dad's arm. Emma had been napping against him since she was a little kid. She preferred his arm much more than Jefferson's. Jefferson fidgeted and when one only had about 20 minutes, then those twenty minutes counted, "I miss this, you know."

"I miss it too."

"I wish you'd reconsider moving in with us."

"Maybe when the baby's born," he promised, "If you'll have me."

"You know I'd take you in a heartbeat," she told him and felt him cover her up with a couch blanket to keep her warm.

Her dad was quiet for a minute, "Do you think this will work? You pushing Nolan and your mother together?"

We'll see," she told him, "It's not my mom I'm worried about though, it's Charming….I just…if someone mucks it all up, it's going to be him."

"What makes you say that?"

"He's not the best when it comes to having a spine and making decisions."

He's different you know," her father said, "He's way different than that."

"Would you tell me about him?"

"Not much to tell, I never interacted with him all that much."

"You know I never bought that, right?" she looked up.

He sighed. She knew that he was working through in insecurities now that Emma and David Nolan were working together and he realized she wasn't exactly calling him 'daddy' yet. He was doing a bit better about his fears after he saw the stress Emma had been placed under because of his actions. He had vowed to be better.

"I'm watching a movie," he was being stubborn, but she could hear him faltering.

"Dad, the Nazis awakened gargoyles to fight for them and the gargoyles listen to no man and they attack Nazis and allied troops alike. Considering the villains for this, I can probably tell you who is going to win."

He sighed, "Do you promise not to get angry at me because I never told you anything other than the basics?"

She was quiet for a second. She supposed she could if she really wanted to, but what was the point? "I won't. I've only told David the basics about Neal. Enough to get him not to ask many things."

He rested his head on hers, "I think the situations are different."

"Maybe," she muttered, "But I won't be angry."

She sat there…with her feet tucked up under her and her chin resting on her father's shoulder and listened as he finally told her more than just what he had to tell her. The only time they stopped was when David Nolan sent her a text asking where she was.

She could see the reluctance in her father's eyes when he finished….she saw the fear that he always had when he thought he might lose her to a better man, "So…what do you think?"

Emma pulled herself off the couch, "Well David Nolan certainly is no prince Charming."

"That's the point, I'm afraid," he reminded her, "Just as Mary Margaret is not Snow White."

Emma texted her deputy and told him she'd be in in about five minutes, "You know something? He's not you either."

"Many would see that as a good thing."

"I don't," she shouldered her purse, "Not all the way at least. While we're both aware of your flaws….I truly don't think Charming would've taken the risks and sacrifices required to keep his family safe. He might've wanted to find a different way because it was too hard and you find it too easy. Maybe that's why mom agreed to let you have me….not because you were her only option but because she knew you would do whatever it took to make sure I saw my 28th birthday."

There was doubt in his eyes, but there was a light too, one that had been gone since her biological dad woke up, "Maybe."

"Maybe," she kissed his cheek, "I love you, papa."

"I love you as well," he tugged her messy braid playfully, "Be safe."

"I'm as safe as you taught me to be."

"If that were the case, you'd be in a giant plastic bubble."

Emma smiled, "Bye dad."

"Next time you stop here for a nap, I expect you to actually take one."

Emma smiled, "Maybe I'll stop by tomorrow."

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This was Emma's fault.

Regina stared at the sobbing Kathryn Nolan across from her and she knew that it was all Emma's fault. It was always Emma's fault. Even when it was Rumpelstiltskin's fault, he did it for Emma. This wasn't his stink though. Je wouldn't tell David to leave Kathryn; he was too selfish to share his daughter with anymore father figures in her life. So it had to be Emma.

Eager to break away from her father's influence, wasn't she? Regina couldn't blame her. If she spent 28 years living under that man's roof, she'd be looking to break the curse so that she could have a better father too.

She HAD a better father until Rumpelstiltskin made her kill him.

"He left you?"

"He said that he couldn't connect and the feelings weren't there anymore and he didn't want to lead me on because he didn't want to hurt me."

"And you're just going to let Mary Margaret take him?"

"Let he- what? He's the one leaving. He had his choice."

Regina felt the anger building up in her chest. It was a pity that she didn't shove a pillow over his face when she had the chance! She should've cut his throat right in front of Snow at the castle before the curse hit them. But she thought he was dead…and when she learned differently when they got here, the chance to keep them so close and yet so far was too hilarious to pass up.

And now that was coming back to bite her, just like letting 'Mr. Gold' keep the baby he adopted 28 years ago. She had just thought he took in a baby for company since he always wanted companionship. She thought that maybe he had put it into his memory to raise a kid for Belle's memory or something. She never thought he would bring the savior into the town. Surely he didn't have the manhood to risk that.

But he had and it was her fault that they were in this mess.

It was slipping out of her control. She had to get ahold of everything right now.

That little guttersnipe would have Mary Margaret in her pocket. All she had to do was give the big green puppy eyes. Emma was quite skilled at those puppy eyes, considering she drew a lot of parallels from a dog of her gender.

Regina smirked slightly.

And she'd have David Nolan's ear too since she worked with him. Well that little tramp just put everything into place, didn't she?

"I think David is just terribly confused right now, he never did seek out therapy for that coma….and of course our resident incompetent sheriff didn't make him do it. I think that the only reason David has a connection with Ms. Blanchard is because she's the first one he saw when he woke up. Those feelings he has for you are buried…just further down. And when he realizes that….he'll come back to you."

"I don't think he will," Kathryn whispered, "He doesn't look at me the way he looked at her. Even when we were in the hospital, I saw it."

"Kathryn," Regina sighed, "I learned a long time ago…that when there's something you want…you don't just wait around and hope it comes to you. You have to fight for it and if I were you….I would do exactly that. I would fight for him. Because David Nolan and you could work very well. Trust me; I'm quite good at seeing if whether or not relationships work out. And if you fight hard enough, yours is in the bag."

Kathryn wiped tears from her eyes, "Do you really think so?"

" I do."

Kathryn smiled, "You're a good friend, Regina. Thank you."

Regina tensed as Kathryn moved to embrace her, and when she did, Regina stared coldly ahead.

If Kathryn couldn't get control of David, then Regina was just going to have to resort to more drastic measures to make sure Mary Margaret and David stayed apart.


	98. Chapter 98

Emma tried to maneuver the earring through the piercing and hissed when she accidentally stabbed herself. Wonderful. She could take out anything with a bow and arrow as far a distance at the Huntsman used t,o but when it came to things like ear decorations, she ALWAYS stabbed herself. Never failed.

The door opened behind her and she turned to look at Jefferson…dressed in his best vest, shirt, cravat, and long coat. Some women might get annoyed at his eccentric outfit but it made her like him more. It gave him flair of personality that she really enjoyed

"Hey," Jefferson said and looked her over, "Wow."

"I know," Emma turned so that he could look at her in her little black dress, "I had to have some alterations made for little Alice or Nathaniel Alexander, but I think it looks good."

"Your hair is all so curly too," he gave her hair a bounce and then snuck a kiss.

"No!" Emma put her hands on his chest, "Behave. This isn't our house, this is dad's house! I'm just using my old room to get ready while we wait for him to arrive. And this can't end before it starts."

"Oh, I've heard that before," he teased.

"Oh shush," she hit him playfully, "Now are you ready?"

"I've been ready for an hour."

"Okay, you know what?" she smiled, "I don't get to do this….I haven't gotten to dress up this nice since we got married. So I will take as long as I want."

"Well, that's all fine and dandy because your father finally showed up while you were trying to get your eyeliner on."

"Only an hour late."

"Rent day," Jefferson shrugged, "Time's moving, people are thinking more for themselves now…they're going to cause more trouble for him."

"I guess," Emma muttered, "I do have to talk to him before we go."

"Thought you might," he grabbed her purse for her, "I'll get the car warmed up; you know how she is when it gets colder.

"I won't be long," she promised.

"That's what you say when you go to the grocery store and it's ALWAYS a lie!" he teased as he walked away.

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Emma jogged down the stairs and smiled a greeting at her father, "Hey papa."

"Hey sweetheart," he greeted and stood to meet her.

She kissed his cheek, "Thank you for watching David for this spontaneous date night."

"You two haven't had a public night to yourselves ever," her dad told her, "Even when you made your marriage known you've been busy with the savior stuff."

"You mean drifting with the savior stuff," Emma muttered and pulled on her leather jacket, "It's been pretty slow for the past three months."

"Something will happen," her father assured her, "It always does."

"Well, I wish it would happen faster and I wish the 'something' in question was David and Mary Margaret."

"Still nothing, huh?"

"Regina's pushing Kathryn to fight for him as much as I'm pushing Mary Margaret to do so and since David has two conflicting feelings, he's doing the spineless thing of not doing anything. No one's doing anything. It's like they're just sitting around waiting for the other to fold."

"Perhaps David's smart," Rumpelstiltskin said with a wry smile, "You don't get involved in the middle of a catfight. Once I had two servant women who had a thing for me and they got in a fight in the kitchen…and I tried to get physically involved and I didn't walk right for a week and I'm still pretty sure that when I magicked some of my hair back in, the texture and length was wrong."

"Dad, I don't want to hear tales about your conquests."

"What conquest? They're the reason I fired the whole staff."

"Like…our version of 'firing' or did you turn them into your lawn flamingos?" she muttered sarcastically, "Wait…no, I don't want to know."

"I'll change them back when we get home," he promised, "If…they're still there."

"Wonderful," Emma muttered again, "One father makes playthings with people and my other father, my fake stepmother, and my real mother with fake memories won't make a move because they all feel too awkward to do so. I think the town is more excited about this relationship than any of them are."

"I take it you heard about the bet?"

"Yes," she rolled her eyes, "One of Leroy's great schemes."

Her father gave a cold smirk, "I think I like that dwarf better as a drunken ne'er-do-well."

"I think you'd like a lot of people better as drunken ne'er-do-wells," she muttered and looked at her father, "Seriously dad, what am I supposed to do?"

"Sweetheart, I told you that you would lose control. It's easy to go against Regina but it's an entirely different ballgame to manipulate someone to go against someone that she's manipulating to get the same goal. I should remind you that this is your mess. You woke Charming up knowing what might happen. Then, while your intentions were good…you started poking the dragon when you hired your father on and tried to get him to fall for your mother. You knew this might not end well and you did it anyway."

"I did it because I wanted Mary Margaret to be happy."

"And you did it also to anger Regina."

"And because it would weaken the curse big time if they did."

"Did what?"

Emma blushed, "I don't want to think about that!"

"It's going to take more than _that _to get this curse weakened Emma. They have to form that bond that they had back home. You can't just throw them in a room and expect them to start mating. They need more than that; they have to really honestly want it. Much like you did when you accepted being a savior. It wouldn't work until you were ready"

Emma sighed, "So I really screwed up, then?"

"Not completely, it's not unsalvageable, but your parents really bonded when people kept trying to push them away from the other. Maybe you should let that happen for a bit. Might awaken something in them."

"I'll take that into consideration," she looked up to see her son come down the stairs, "And here's the little troublemaker now."

"Hey grandpa!" David greeted.

Emma ran a playful hair through her son's hair and kissed the top of his head, "You behave."

"Always do."

Emma playfully grabbed his nose, "You know, you might not want to tell your mother that, since she actually _knows _you."

David grinned and Emma pulled him in a playful headlock, "Okay dad, no TV until he does his homework, and videogames count as that. Make sure he eats…somewhat healthy and if he gives you the puppy eyes and you cave…remember that if you sugar him up, you have to deal with the crash that follows."

"Okay," her dad said.

"I'm going to pretend that you actually listened to some of that," she told him and kissed her son's forehead, "I love you."

"Love you too."

"Keep your grandfather behaved."

"Always do."

"Uh huh," she said dubiously, "I know the trouble you two get in together."

She almost rolled her eyes as they both gave her their own large puppy eyed look.

"Like I said," she told them, "No TV until homework!"

David looked up at his grandfather, "Can we watch TV?"

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged, "Only if you don't tell your mother."

"I won't if you won't."

Rumpelstiltskin extended his hand, "Deal."

And David shook it.

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Jefferson looked at his wife as they drove down the hill into town, "You know what I can't wait for?"

"Hm?"

"When this curse breaks…and your dad finds a way for all of us to cross the border in case we can't…I would like to take you to a nicer restaurant other than Granny's."

Emma smiled, "Yeah, Regina clearly didn't think of everything, right? Decent restaurant. Decent pizza place….I would take you to New York to get you pizza. Best pizza in the country."

"How do you know? Did you try all the pizza places in the country to make that assumption?"

"I tried," Emma told him

Jefferson gave her his winning smile, "I heard the food is the best thing about this world."

"That and no ogres."

"Of the monster kind anyway," he told her as they crossed into town.

"OF the monster kind," she agreed.

Jefferson looked at her and smiled, "You look really pretty tonight."

Despite being married for five years, Emma gave a blush anyway, "And you look very handsome."

"I know," he teased, and looked at her, "You know…after dinner and the walk by the dock…we could rent an inn room for the night."

Emma scoffed, "I already did."

"Oh?"

"I'm not going to let this date night just be a date evening," she told him, "Not until I get what I want from you sweetie."

"We're like a real public married couple."

"Yeah," Emma beamed.

"Yeah!" Jefferson crossed one leg over the other, "Being married is amazing."

"I certainly think it's one of the best decisions you ever made," she teased back.

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With a full stomach and a key hanging from her coat pocket, Emma kept up with her husband as he pressed her up against the door. She kissed him and pulled her head back when his lips travelled down to her neck. Emma felt her breathing hitch. She rubbed the back of his head and gripped his hair.

"Where is it?"

"Left pocket," she unbuttoned his vest and felt his hand on her leg

He grabbed the key and forced it in the lock. He held onto Emma so she wouldn't fall when the door opened and they stumbled into the room.

Emma kicked her shoes off and tried to work through her husband's layers of clothes.

"Where's the zipper?" he demanded.

"On the side!"

"Why must women's clothes be so complicated?!"

Emma cursed as her fingers slipped on the little buttons that held her husband's shirt closed, "It's a mystery that baffles us all."

The final button came loose; he shed his coat, vest, and shirt all in one move. Emma's dress fell around her ankles. She pushed her husband on the bed and kissed him.

"Now Mr. March," she teased, "Time for you to pay for your half of the bill."

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It was midnight when Emma got the craving for pumpkin pie.

Jefferson slept beside her…dead to the world. Normally he was a light sleeper…which benefited her when she had nightmares…but when she wore him out he was out like a light.

Emma slipped out of bed and pulled on her small black slip. This probably wouldn't have been a problem if her dad hadn't bought some for the family the other day.

Well, the grocery store and the diner were closed at this time of night.

Emma grabbed her phone from her purse and slipped into the bathroom. She pressed the '2' of the speed dial and put it to her ear.

"_Hello?" _

Emma blinked at the voice on the other end, "David? What are you doing up?"

"_Um….I….was getting a drink of water." _

Emma doubted that, "Uh-huh. Sweetie, is there any of that pumpkin pie left?"

"Yeah, there's a slice."

Emma thought there was a whole half left; she thought she saw it when she stopped by for lunch, "Only a slice? What happened to the rest of it?"

"Um…."

Adventures in babysitting, why wasn't she surprised? "C-could you get your grandfather to bring me out a slice?"

"He's in bed."

"Already?"

"Time's moving. He's getting old."

"David Rumpelstiltskin March," Emma scolded.

"That's what he said!"

"Most of what your grandfather said shouldn't be repeated," she muttered, "Okay, here's what we're going to do. You bring me out the piece and I'll stop by."

"What about dad and your date night?"

"He won't mind," she wrote him a quick note, "He'll be happy to have a satisfied wife over a craving grumpy one."

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Emma pulled to a stop in front of her father's house and smiled when she saw her son waiting on the steps. He ran forward with a plate and a fork.

Emma raised her eyebrow when she saw the mountain of whipped cream. She could barely see the pie, "Hey…still in your jammies?"

"Mom," David blushed, "No one says jammies anymore."

"I say jammies," Emma told him, "I also say jimmy-jams too. Anyway…what do you mean by 'no one says whatever anymore' we're in a town frozen by time."

"Well, there are still things that we're with it on."

"Oh, 'with it'," she cut into the pie and took a bite. That was glorious, "Is _that _what they say now?

David shrugged, "That's what they say in school?"

"You know what else they said in school when I went?" Emma nudged him with her elbow, "They said _jammies_."

"They did not."

"They said a lot of things," Emma said, "Same kids too."

"Uh-huh," David looked at his mother and leaned against her.

"How much TV did you watch?"

"I didn't, I was hard at work on homework."

"Sure," Emma said sarcastically, "You know what's not fair…I never got away with TV before homework."

"You're the savior."

"Is that the excuse you're going with?" Emma asked, "Did you even get your homework done?"

"Some of it."

"What?" Emma raised her eyebrow, "Putting your name on the paper?"

"Mom," he narrowed his eyes, "I did more than that."

"Okay," she put her hand on his head and kissed his forehead, "It better be done when we come pick you up."

"It will be."

"Yeah, when you're done sleeping off that sugar," she told him, "You know, I never got to stay up past midnight."

"Well, it's a good thing I did, right?"

"Hey, you're still in trouble."

"Grandpa said I could stay up!"

"OH, you won't be grounded. When you have kids of your own, I'm going to do the exact same thing to them and drive you insane."

David smiled, "You haven't teased me like this in a long time."

Emma smiled, "I'm just happy I guess. Stress free night for once."

"Are those coming to an end?"

"Might be," she told him honestly, "For a while at least."

David looked down, "Okay."

Emma cleared her throat, "David….things might start getting a bit dangerous soon and so if something happens to me-."

"Nothing's going to be happening to you," David said quickly.

"Maybe not, but if…if it does…I want you to listen to your father. And I want you to help him, okay? And your grandfather and grandmother…I want all of you to lean on each other, okay? And I want you to know that I love you."

"Nothing's going to happen to you," David said in determination. And she saw the anger and fear in his eyes, "I won't let it."

Emma smiled gently at her son and kissed his temple, "Okay."

They both jumped when they heard a loud engine. Emma turned to see someone driving a motorcycle pulled up beside the car. Emma narrowed her eyes at the figure. She'd been through every part of Storybrooke, she would've known if there was a motorcycle here. And then the big box strapped to the back got her attention.

The man pulled his helmet off and she saw someone she didn't recognize. She felt her heart jump a bit. He wasn't anyone from here, so how did he get through the border?

"Hi."

Emma put a protective hand on her son's shoulder, "Hey."

"Is this Storybrooke?"

Oh, now she was suspicious, "Yeah."

"Any place to get a room around here?"

"Uh…," David looked up at his mother and then back down at her, "You're staying?"

"That's the plan. Just looking for a bed."

"Granny's Bed and Breakfast is just up the road…right next to the closed diner, you can't miss it."

"Thank you," August gave a nod, looked at them both for another second and then started walking off.

There was something in that look that Emma didn't like. Oh, what was she kidding? She didn't like any of it for obvious reasons, "I didn't catch your name"

He straddled the motorcycle, "Well, that's because I didn't give it."

They watched him drive way.

David looked at his mother, "People can't come here unless they're wanted."

"No," Emma said, "They can't."

"So who wants him?"

"Maybe someone that doesn't know they want him yet?"

David watched the street where he disappeared to, "He could be Bae."

"I don't think so, it's never that easy," Emma kissed her son's cheek; "Go inside before your grandfather misses you."

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Emma crept into the room and shut the door quietly behind her. Jefferson was still asleep. Good.

She changed into some nightclothes and slipped in the bed.

"Hey," her husband whispered when she cuddled up to him.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Where'd you go?"

"Craving run."

"I could've gotten something for you," he told her and reached out for her.

"Nah, I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you up."

"You're sweet," he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

Emma returned it and turned to face him, "Honey?"

"Hm?"

"Something weird just happened while I was out there."


	99. Chapter 99

On Saturday, Emma walked down the street with her husband and son to the diner to get something to eat. Dr. Whale told her that she needed exercise…so she was going to exercise…and then go to the diner and eat as many pancakes as she could stuff in her mouth. That'd show him. She was carrying a bowling ball; she was going to eat as much as she could.

Besides, Emma was certain that her daughter or son was breakdancing in her womb, she wanted some comfort food.

They walked into the diner…it was a bit crowded…Emma was certain she saw Leroy chatting with his dwarven brethren…or more like arguing about whatever like they always did. Emma was never certain how she was going to convince them to all get along. She hoped that getting them to make peace wasn't something that weakened the curse in a big way.

Emma rubbed her hand through her son's hair, "You two go ahead and sit down, I got something I need to do."

The stranger sat at a table by himself. It'd been a week since he'd pulled into town. Emma kept trying to catch him but he always seemed to avoid her at the last possible second. And now here they were. Emma realized of course that this was probably no coincidence. If he was here…whoever he was, it was probably because he was ready for her to talk to him.

"Hey," Emma greeted, "So, I see that you're settling in."

"Yeah," the stranger said, "Quite the friendly little town."

Oh yeah, he knew something.

But Emma kept her gaze, "How long are you staying?"

He shrugged, "I don't know…till my work is done I guess."

"What kind of work do you do?" Emma asked, she didn't have to feign curiosity but she did have to do her best to hide her true reasons of why she wanted to know, "Is it in that big box you brought with you?"

"Oh, you noticed?" he gave her an easy smile.

"Everyone noticed, it's all they talk about," Emma accepted a coffee that Ruby brought her, "Thanks Ruby."

He watched her carefully…as if he was trying to see what she knew, "How about I show you?"

"Okay," she said simply, "Could you tell me your name first?"

"Oh, one thing at a time."

"Hm," Emma took a sip, "Usually if someone doesn't tell me their name; that leads me to worry. If they're not telling me their name, they're not telling me other things."

He smiled, "It's Booth."

"Like John Wilkes Booth?"

"Hm," he shook his head, "Not sure we're related."

He was from their world…it was the only thing that made sense in all of this.

"My name is August W. Booth."

It sounded too pretentious to be a real name, it just convinced Emma more that he might be someone from their home world…but how did he escape the curse?

"Well, the name's down," she took another sip, "What's in the box?"

"I'll tell you…over a drink."

"Hm," Emma cleared her throat, "Not sure my husband would be comfortable with that."

August paled…and looked over at Jefferson, "Husband."

"Yeah," she showed him her left hand, "Pregnancy's making my fingers swell, I can't wear my ring sometimes. Which is a shame because it's such a pretty ring. My father only gave his blessing when Jefferson bought the most expensive one."

"Father?" August demanded, "What father?"

Emma turned as her dad walked into the diner to join them for breakfast. She smiled in his direction, "Speak of the devil."

And she swore that August nearly fell out of his chair when Rumpelstiltskin limped up to them and kissed his daughter's cheek, "Hello Emma."

"Hi dad," Emma started to walk away with him.

"That's your father?"

"Through and through," Emma smiled, enjoying his discomfort. If he was going to flirt and speak cryptically then he was going to get what he was going to get, "Got his eyes too I think. Goodbye Mr. Booth. Enjoy your stay."

Her father looked at her, "That was the man you were telling me about?"

Emma nodded, "I think he's from home."

"I don't recognize him," her father whispered.

"Well that just made everything a lot more complicated."

Rumpelstiltskin looked over his shoulder and then back at her, "How did he escape the curse?"

Emma shrugged, "I don't know."

"Well, did you ask him?"

"Not yet," Emma sat down next to her husband, "I'm not sure if I trust him enough or not to tell him what I know"

"Because he was flirting with you," Rumpelstiltskin muttered.

Jefferson looked up sharply and she saw the jealousy in his eyes, "He was what?"

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It'd been three months since David Nolan had left his wife for her and then backtracked once he actually had to make a decision on who he was going to choose. Three months. And in that time, Mary Margaret had been talked about, scorned….she was the other woman in everyone's eyes. Nothing had ever happened between the two of them of course. Nothing ever got the chance to because he got his memories back. She'd had more luck when she kissed Mr. Gold in that one minute then she had ever had with David when they were going on their…usually awkward dates. That's how it worked now. David wasn't sure which one he wanted so he would go on awkward dates with both her and Kathryn. He told Mary Margaret that he cared about her, but he also cared about Kathryn…

But they all knew the truth. They all knew he only saw her because he felt that loyalty to her that caused him to break it off with Mary. They all knew what he wanted. He just didn't want to take it.

And so Mary Margaret was the other woman. She was the home wrecker. She was the one that women looked at and whispered about. Well, she was always that, but it was never this bad.

In truth, Mary Margaret had given up on any chance of being happy. That wouldn't happen. Nothing in this town ever changed. She would've settled for being content though. Mr. Gold had balked at the idea of them being together when little Emma brought it up. But she didn't think it would've been so bad. They could've raised Emma together…as well as any other children if they entered that type of relationship. And he had enough wealth and power for them to be safe and secure. Sometimes Mary would've loved that if it meant that the Mayor was scared to approach her and cut her down with vicious words.

But Mr. Gold's heart belonged to another. She knew that, somehow she had always known. It'd only been confirmed after Emma had run away and Mr. Gold told her a bit about the woman he'd loved. He told her she had beautiful blue eyes and brown hair and they said she was the prettiest woman in all the land ('in all the land' odd way of putting it), but they fought and she had died and so he could never love someone else.

Mary tried her best not to make her attraction to him known. But somehow he seemed to know and while he seemed touched by it, he never took advantage. It was weird; he seemed like the kind that would take advantage. However, for some reason, she was always off limits. He always treated her like he had a soft spot for her…and that added to the mystery of what their nonexistent relationship actually was.

But now she was seen as being involved with a married man and the reputation that always skated on thin ice crumbled all together. After all, the town thought she had the most powerful man in Storybrooke chasing her. Why should she break up a marriage to get what she wanted?

She knew that it was going to be difficult when most people called her up and told her why they were going to refuse helping her for Miner's Day. And she wouldn't have gone to the diner begging if it weren't an emergency but here she was. Little David March saw her while he sat with his parents and grandfather in the corner booth. He gave a happy wave and Mary smiled. She didn't go over there though. Jefferson and Emma were whispering and they looked like they were in a bit of a fight. Mr. Gold just sat there enjoying the show.

She looked over to her right and saw the stranger that had rolled into town last week on his rather loud motorcycle. For some reason he looked sick. Maybe pancakes didn't agree with him. Mary Margaret made note not to get those for a while.

She held the clipboard in front of her, "Excuse me, can I have everyone's attention, please?"

Everyone went silent. Okay, they weren't ignoring her outright. This might be easy.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your morning, but I just wanted to remind everyone that a very special occasion is upon us – Miner's day. As always the nuns of Storybrooke are hoping that everyone will get involved, and will help sell their exquisite candles. All we need are a few energetic volunteers. So, who wants to join me?"

A beat passed and everyone went back to what they were doing except for her little family in the corner.

Well, maybe no one wanted to do it publicly. Maybe they'd come to her privately and help.

And then…the town drunk stood up. Mary smiled at Leroy, "Leroy, you want to volunteer?"

"I want to leave sister, you're blocking the door."

No, she was going to get him to help. If she couldn't get HIM of all people, then there wasn't hope, "Of course. Uh…you know, if you wanted to help, it could really be a-."

"Yeah right," Leroy scoffed. Quite a team we'd make – town harlot, town drunk. The only person in this town that people like less than me is you."

Mary wondered why Mr. Gold wasn't included on that list, but he was listening in she noticed and he could raise rent whenever he wanted.

"If you're coming to me, you're screwed," he continued and brushed past her. Mary just stood there for a second. Of course everyone stopped to watch that interaction. She lowered the clipboard in humiliation and started out the door.

"Hey!" she looked over as Emma held her swelling belly and sort of jogged up behind her, "Mind if I join you? Jefferson's sort of pouting."

"What on earth does he have to be pouting about?" Mary demanded.

"Oh, the new guy flirted with me."

"I didn't think Jefferson was insecure about that."

"He's usually not, but the new guy has a motorcycle and he seems to think that'll attract me and now he wants a motorcycle. I think he's just using this as an excuse to talk me into getting one. I told him he couldn't have one because no one in town could teach him to ride it and I don't want him breaking his neck and now he's mad at me."

"Well, he'll probably get over it when he wants to eat again," Mary snapped, "Maybe if he'd helped me out back there-."

"You know Jefferson and social functions," Emma muttered, "He's not exactly one you want signing up for those."

"Right now I'd take anyone signing up," she said, "You just saw me practically begging Leroy, right?"

"Is it really that bad?"

Mary sighed at Emma's concerned eyes, "Last week I had ten volunteers. This week, they all dropped out."

"Is this about David?"

Mary lowered her head, "A few of them told me as much. I've….never been a home wrecker before."

"It'll blow over."

"You keep saying that but it hasn't happened yet," Mary said again.

"My family will probably do something to take the scandal off you," Emma muttered, "It'll be fine."

Mary studied her for a second and then held up the clipboard, "Emma…"

Emma shook her head, "Oh no…"

"It's for a good cause!"

"I'm working security!"

"You always say that nothing bad enough happens to warrant you doing your job…you can work a booth, right? I can sign you up for the baking booth; you don't have to stand on your feet for that one."

"That usually requires two people because it's so busy."

"Sign Jefferson up."

"Mary."

"Please?" she gave Emma the large puppy eyes, "If people see that the pregnant sheriff is working, they might sign up! Did I mention it's for a good cause?"

Emma took the clipboard and rolled her eyes, "Only because we never get to buy the good cakes before they're sold."

"You're the best," Mary hugged her.

"Tell that to my husband here in about ten minutes," Emma muttered.

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Regina had only one thing in common with Mr. Gold. She hated Miner's Day as much as he did. But it wasn't the same reasoning. She couldn't care less about the fairies, but because everyone gathered down the street to celebrate and she could hear them…and it was noisy and she never got work done. Whose idea was this festival again?

Was it one of those things that just happened? Because Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't want it. He hated the fairies. She didn't want it either. Why should these people enjoy themselves?

She wasn't looking forward to it at all.

Someone knocked on the door and she looked up, Kathryn Nolan was standing there in the doorway. Regina fought a groan…she was probably here for Regina to manipulate into fighting for her husband. The man that Regina kindly gave her.

But Regina gave her a happy smile, one that she'd given for years to hide the anger she felt raging inside of her and she stood, "Kathryn, what a pleasant surprise. May I get you coffee?"

"No, I don't want coffee," Kathryn gave her that sweet smile that rivaled Mary Margaret's in terms of sap and handed her an envelope.

Regina accepted it, "what's this?"

"I…applied for a law school in Boston. I've been accepted."

"How did this get over the border?" Regina whispered.

"I- I don't know. I just applied for it over the computer and it showed up at my door, and I'm going to put money down for an apartment and find a job there…and I'm going to start new.

"Of course," Regina muttered, "Emma would suggest that."

Kathryn's excitement fell, "No she didn't…why would Emma suggest anything?"

Regina felt her heart racing, "What about…fighting for David?"

"I think that that's a good dream…but we both know it won't happen…I don't think he can be happy with me. Really, I get the feeling that he's only taking me out to dinner sometimes out of obligation. He'll never look at me the way he looks at her."

Regina saw the determination and knew she wouldn't be able to talk her out of it. If she did, then she'd look desperate. But this wasn't good. If Kathryn left, then David's probably was solved for him. And he would choose Mary and Mary would fall all over him without any consideration for anyone else. Her being married to Mr. Gold was supposed to prevent that, but Rumpelstiltskin had removed that 'ending' of the curse, the stupid imp.

"I'm sure…you'll be very happy out there," Regina said.

But perhaps there was a way that she could still keep them separated.

Kathryn smiled and went to hug her, "Thank you."

"I'll stop by tonight," Regina promised her with a smile, "Help you get your bags packed."

"I'd appreciate that."

Oh unfortunately…no she wouldn't.

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Mary Margaret figure that somehow the five steps of grief could apply to this whole business of getting volunteers. She was currently out of denial, but she wasn't sure if she was in anger or bargaining because they alternated.

Some had signed up when they saw Emma's name. But that was only because they thought that Mr. Gold would find out they didn't help when his pregnant daughter had and he would up the rent. Mary Margaret didn't confirm or deny that…she just wanted to get some work done and if they were doing it because they were intimidated…oh well. That wasn't her place.

But no one talked with her. And while the nuns were grateful for her assistance…none of them seemed chatty in her direction.

She saw Leroy come into the room but she ignored him. They didn't keep booze in here; she wasn't sure why he didn't get that. The nuns didn't share the communion wine.

"Where can I sign up?"

Oh no…she was going to ignore him. He humiliated her in front of everyone.

"What?" Leroy demanded, as if he didn't know what he did wrong, "I want to volunteer to sell candles."

Of course he'd want to do that. He'd rely on her to do all the work…not like anyone ever really bought that many candles anyway, "No, you don't. You made that very clear this morning at Granny's."

"Well…maybe I saw the light. I mean, maybe someone showed it to me," when he realized she wasn't buying it, he leaned forward, What difference does it make, sister? It looks like you can use all the help you can get."

It was a bit embarrassing to be called out by Leroy twice in one day. She almost turned him away then and there. If he had this sort of attitude, then what good was he going to do?

But maybe she could keep him out of trouble.

"Okay," she shoved a clipboard in his hand, "I need help manning the candle booth. No swearing, no drinking, and I get to call all the shots.

There was a commotion going on at the other side of the room, but Mary ignored it. Too much work to be done.

Another volunteer down, she supposed.

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Well that went SUPER well.

Mary had not meant for it to spin out of control like it did. It just happened. Their situation was a lot direr than she originally predicted. Astrid; the nun that….not a lot of people took seriously, had a bit of a mishap when she ordered 5,000 dollars' worth of helium tanks on accident. Leroy…promised that he would help get the money.

But it'd been a dud. No one cared no matter how loud they screamed and advertised.

So, it was Leroy's idea to go door to door. It was everyone else's idea to slam that door in their faces. Neither one was fast enough to get their foot in the door to explain the situation. Mary Margaret was sort of grateful for that. She wasn't sure she wore the right shoes that would keep her feet uninjured.

They'd gone back to the convent even more despondent. It wasn't Leroy's faoult….it was a good idea and he actually tried. It was hers. Leroy always got paid when someone wanted him to leave. Everyone barely glanced at them when she was with him.

Leroy asked to break the news, Mary Margaret was reluctant. She had placed herself in charge and she should accept responsibility. Leroy had been far more faithful than she thought him capable of and she didn't want him to shoulder what she should.

But Leroy insisted and so Mary…reluctantly acquiesced him.

He crept forward, "Sister Astrid?"

"Hi," she greeted cheerfully.

"I have to talk to you. See, I have some bad news."

Her face fell, "Oh no. What is it?"

"The bad news is, that….that…," he looked at Mary and then back at Astrid. Mary watched as his posture straightened, "You nuns are going to be real busy making candles, cause me and Mary Margaret just sold them a..! You're not losing the convent! You're not going anywhere!"

Wait, what?

What just happened?

Mary Margret allowed herself the time it took for Astrid to hug Leroy to absorb her shock. And then when Astrid was distracted, she pulled him to the side, "How could you tell Astrid that we sold all those candles? That's five thousand dollars, Leroy. Five thousand dollars that we don't have!"

"Ask Emma."

"Emma doesn't just have five thousand dollars in her back pocket! And I'm not even sure our bank HAS five thousand dollars in its safe right now!"

"Ask Mr. Gold."

"He's not going to give me five grand for no reason with no strings attached."

"Oh, come on! He likes you!"

"Not that much!"

"He could! You don't know!"

"Oh, I very much know, Leroy."

Leroy leaned in, "You mean you and he never…"

Mary felt the heat rising to her face, "NO!"

"Never ever?"

"Our relationship is nothing like that! He's not just going to give me five thousand dollars because he'll want to know why and if I tell him why then he won't do it. I can't lie to him because he can always tell."

"Okay, fine!" Leroy snapped, "Don't worry about it, alright? I got a plan."

"What plan?" Mary demanded, "A plan like going door to door and having everyone in town laugh in our faces?"

"Just give me till the end of the day. I'll figure something out.

Mary studied him. She'd never seen him this determined before, not even at happy hour, "And why is this so important to you?"

"The nuns," Leroy looked back at Astrid, "They're going to have to leave."

And then it all made sense. His sudden change in attitude. The eager way he went to talk to Astrid…all of it made perfect sense and she was stupid not to have seen it before.

"Oh. My. God. You LIKE her?! She's a nun, Leroy. Could you possibly pick anyone any less available?"

"Says the girl who went after a married guy?" Leroy demanded, "At the end of the day, you're no better than I am. You got your reasons for being here, I got mine. And when I say I'm going to get that five thousand dollars, I'm going to get that five thousand dollars."

Mary knew that she better hope for sunshine and prepare for rain then.

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For his birthday (or the day that Emma picked for his birthday when she was eight), Emma had bought Rumpelstiltskin several books when she travelled to Boston to get some exotic food for the family to eat. He hadn't gotten the chance to sit down and read them yet. The cold was hurting his leg, so when he got home, the only thing he wanted to do was go to bed and go to sleep.

Miners Day; everyone closed shop. Rumpelstiltskin was fine with that. He didn't want to be near those tacky fairies anyway. But it meant that he could spend the day at home. The only time he bothered to leave the house was to have breakfast with Emma and the family and that's because she wanted him to try and get a glance at the stranger.

Emma was right, there was a reason to be suspicious of a man dropping cryptic hints and who could obviously enter and leave the town. He was someone that Rumpelstiltskin was going to keep an eye on.

AFTER Miner's day though. He had been hoping to relax.

Instead he had been called.

By Leroy.

And now they were standing outside at the docks, staring at this dilapidated boat. Did he live on this?

"Now, I know it's a bit of a fixer-upper…could probably use a new coat of paint, a few spritzes of Febreeze here and there, but you can't tell me that five thousand's not a reasonable price for this beauty. If you want, you can take your family out on it. Kids love boats, right? And you have your son-in-law. You two can make the repairs together and bond. Then when it's all nice and ready, you all can go out on the water. You can even loosen up away from the public. Wear some Bermuda shorts and a straw hat if you want to really get in the feel of it. Of course, there's the question of how all of you would fit on this boat, but I think you'll figure something out."

This thing looked like it would sink before it left the harbor. And Rumpelstiltskin wasn't entirely sure Emma and Jefferson would save him before they saved their kids. His leg locked up when he swam, especially in the cold water, "Three thousand, I think."

Even that was generous.

Leroy moved to stand in front of him, "I need five."

"You need five?" he mocked.

He was missing out on Michael Grant's "Gone" series for THIS?!

Okay, sure it was a young adult series but there was a sort of dark brutality "Lord of the Flies" scenario that he was enjoying.

"To what do we owe this specificity?" he demanded.

"Trying to help out a friend."

What friend needed 5 grand in a town with no inflation? "Oh, I see."

Did Leroy even HAVE friends?

"Look, you don't even have to pay me anything. Just forgive one months' rent for the nuns."

The mention of those overdressed pests made him automatically angry, "The NUNS?!"

"You can have the boat. They'll pay you back eventually. It's a good deal. You get everything."

"So, that's what this is about," he sneered. He wouldn't…get everything. If he did this then he would miss the chance of watching those oversized fireflies begging for help in the middle of the woods like he had when they refused to help him.

Did people still live in the woods? He wasn't sure…

"Come on-," Leroy pleaded, "You're a rich guy. You can afford to give them time to make up one month's rent, right?"

"You're right, I could," he baited.

Leroy looked excited, "So, great."

Wait for it…

"But I won't. I have a fairly specific rental agreement. If they miss a payment, I'm within my rights to evict."

"Oh come on," Leroy pleaded, "Why don't you-."

"And, quite honestly, it's going to be a great relief to be rid of such distasteful tenants."

Leroy looked at him like he just called a baby hideous or something, "You don't like nuns? Who doesn't like nuns?"

"Oh, I have my reasons," he snarled, "And they're mine."

He turned to leave the bewildered Leroy behind, "Let's just say, I have a long and complicated history with them, and leave it at that."

He started back up the docks and watched as one of the fairies…he believed she was the female fairy equivalent of the Dopey dwarf walked where he came from with a pie in hand.

OH! So THAT was what this was about.

"Hello Astrid," he said with a vicious smirk.

All the blood drained from her face, "Hello Mr. Gold."

"Hope to see you very soon," he said while passing her.

Any day to terrify the fairies was a good day.

He sort of wished that the boat was in better shape though…he sort of wanted one.

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When Mary saw Leroy come in, she had a pretty good guess on how it went.

"I'll have what she's having," he said in a defeated tone.

But Mary tried to be hopeful, "Well? Did you get it?"

Leroy just looked at her, "What do you think?"

And she felt her insides just…tear up as the last hope…whatever it was his plan had been failed, "I think you're right. I was dreaming if I thought the town harlot and the town drunk could accomplish anything."

"Yeah," Leroy said and tossed a double back, "Just dreaming."

Mary looked at him again, and she felt horrible that everything he'd tried to do failed, "Leroy, you understand that a relationship between you and Sister Astrid can never happen?"

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, "My whole life people made it their business to tell me what I can't do. She was the first person that said I could do anything. Who believed in me. I didn't want to disappoint her, and now she's the person I'm going to disappoint the worst I've ever disappointed anyone."

Mary took another sip, "There are consequences to following through when the world tells you not to. I mean, look at me. I'm a pariah in this town through one reason or another."

"What about your good memories?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, you had those years with Emma and she's practically your kid. Theo only reason she probably grew up decent was because of you. I doubt it was all her father because he isn't that great. I sort of feel bad that I thought you two did the horizontal tango for all these years now because I don't think you would've had the patience for him."

"Wonderful," Mary muttered.

"Well, you have to have some good memories of David Nolan too. Don't you have memories that you don't regret?"

"Of course I do," she said, "They're just far and few in between."

"Isn't that what life's about? Holding on to your good memories? All I wanted was a moment with Astrid. One moment to give me hope that any dream's possible. You've had all that, Mary Margaret. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and enjoy it. Because I haven't."

"And yet here I am still alone," she muttered.

"Sitting here drinking won't end this pain."

"What will?" Mary asked.

Leroy sighed, "I can only think of one thing."

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Emma was always baffled at why they needed security on Miner's day because nothing ever happened. The Baking Booth was far busier though. Emma wasn't sure why she didn't manage a booth and do double the work to keep herself busy.

Jefferson stood beside her and handed out cakes and cupcakes. He had pouted all day when she told him that she signed both of them up. She recognized that she should've let him know and they should've talked about it. However, Emma had felt bad for Mary Margaret and when she felt bad for Mary Margaret, she turned into putty.

Wanting a motorcycle, what was he thinking?

Emma pushed it to the back of her mind. Jefferson normally never got jealous. But in the week that he'd been here, it'd been a bit of a fascination for Emma. She liked a good mystery. Jefferson…didn't share her fascination. He just wanted her to sic her dad on him and be done with it. He'd answer all the questions Emma wanted with a few good smacks with the cane.

Sometimes Jefferson was a bit too like his past self when he got mad.

Emma did her rounds and made sure everything was alright. She left Jefferson with just a couple of customers, but the booth was empty when she returned.

Jefferson was sitting in one of the lawn chairs that he'd brought with him, "Hey."

"Hey," she sat next to the lawn chair next to him, "So I take it you're not angry?"

"Got tired of being angry," he reached under the booth and pulled out a plate. He pulled off the napkin and Emma's eyes grew when she saw a slice of the Red Velvet Layer Cake with four layers.

"I bought the whole thing for us," he told her.

Emma smiled and looked at her husband. That was her favorite kind of cake and he remembered, "Thank you."

"I hope you're happy, because when Ruby saw that it was a RED velvet cake, I nearly had to fight her for it. Luckily booth managers have priority.

Emma grabbed a fork and kissed him, "I'm sorry for today."

He gave her a small smile, "I'm sorry too."

Emma took a bite. Oh, that was glorious, "Where's David?"

"Playing with Hansel and Gretel. They asked if he could spend the night. I told him it was okay."

He was making friends. He was making connections with the children that would age the same as him. Emma gave a giddy smile.

"You're glowing."

"I am," she said.

"You look beautiful when you glow," he told her simply.

Emma blushed, "Are you just trying to get laid?"

"Yeah," he said, "But I mean it too."

"Honey, when I get home, I'm going to want to go to bed," she rested her head on his shoulder, "But I guess you can go at it. Just don't wake me up."

"I don't…think that'll be appropriate."

Emma smiled, "Wanna know what dad told me?"

"What?"

"He told me that Leroy tried to sell him his boat today. He was trying to raise money for the nuns."

Jefferson chuckled, "I'll bet that was a kick to watch."

"Leroy lives on that boat, he was giving up his home so that Astrid could have hers" Emma looked thoughtful, "I think its sweet."

I'm sure it is honey," he rubbed her leg.

"You know what you don't have to worry about?" She smiled at him, "Me abandoning my home for August."

He smiled, "Interesting how you tied that all together."

"Mmhmm," she used her finger to get the last of the frosting off the plate and playfully wiped it on his nose.

"Mature," he muttered, "Wanna lick it off me?"

Emma smiled, "No."

"I'll put some frosting on my abs too."

"I'll bet you will."

"Mr. and Mrs. March."

Jefferson and Emma jumped at the familiar voices and they both stumbled to stand.

Grace's parents.

Gods, how much had they heard?

"How lovely to see you!"

"Hello," Emma greeted and Jefferson turned red.

Meredith smiled. Grace couldn't smile but her eyes showed the loyalty and love that she had for her biological father.

"Out of everything, I see." Meredith said with some sadness in her voice.

"Of course not," Jefferson reached under the booth and pulled out some lemon flavored cupcakes.

"Oh Jefferson," Meredith smiled, "you're a sweetheart."

Jefferson shot a triumphant look at his wife, "You hear that?"

"You still have frosting on your nose, honey."

He wiped it off.

"Why don't-," Emma adjusted her position, "Why don't you leave Paige here for a few minutes?"

"Oh," Meredith said and looked at her husband, "You're sure?"

"Yeah, we don't have anywhere to be," Jefferson said, "I'll put her right next to me and we can cause trouble together."

"I do have an extra lawn chair," Emma stood and pulled it out, "It was supposed to be David's."

"If you don't mind…Meredith said, "You have to be careful though."

"We know," Emma set up the chair.

Jefferson smiled tenderly at his daughter, "Can I?"

"Okay."

Emma and Jefferson gently helped her out of the wheelchair. They both placed her in the far right chair.

"Easy," Meredith said, "She's tired."

"She can fall asleep on me," Jefferson sat right beside her and guided her to lean on him, "I don't mind."

Meredith smiled, "Jefferson?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you'll be a great father to that baby."

He smiled and genuinely looked touched, "Thank you."

Meredith took her husband's hand and they turned to go.

No one was looking at him. He put his hand on his daughters, "Hey Grace. I love you."

Emma watched as the grip that Grace had been working on for the past few years tighten slightly.

Emma got up from her chair and move until she was kneeling in front of Grace. "Grace? I want you know that it's not…it's not going to be too much longer, okay? I'm working as hard as I can to make the curse break. It's weakening every day. And I promise you…no matter what happens…even if Regina's making this world collapse on itself, I WILL put you on priority, Okay?"

Grace blinked once.

Emma moved and embraced her awkwardly, "I'll get you out of this."

Jefferson wrapped his arms around Emma and his daughter.

"It'll be okay," he promised both of them.

Every day got them closer and closer.

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He didn't leave by the front door. Mary would've seen him do so when she was getting her coat and hat on. And he didn't go out the back, because the door was closed. The door to the roof was open, so she went up there…just to make sure.

And she found him standing on the edge…with a pick axe…okay…what a different way to go out.

"Leroy! What are you doing?" she pleased. It wasn't worth THIS! "Please don't do it!

He and Astrid could be together. It'd just take a lot of work.

Leroy looked insulted, "I'm not going to jump!"

"You're not?" she asked. What, was he going to threaten to jump unless someone bought candles? That'd be a good way, she supposed. She never thought to go that dark…

"No! Are you crazy? I could hit someone. You know how much damage I could do? I'm solidly built!"

For some reason, she felt really stupid, "Leroy, what are you doing up here?"

"I'm going to get my moment," he picked up his pickaxe.

And Mary realized he was standing really close to the transformer. That was full of electricity! He could get electrocuted! "Wait! Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?"

"You might want to duck!"

He slammed the pick axe against the transformer. Sparks flew and all the lights in the square and probably beyond went out.

Mary stood in shock…she knew what he'd done but she asked anyway…just for reassurance, "What are you doing?"

He smirked, "I'm selling candles, sister."

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Rumpelstiltskin knew that his reputation would be tarnished if anyone knew that he secretly favored extremely hot bubble baths. It was the epitome of relaxing for him. He didn't have to go anywhere, he was going to slip some of it in the tub, strip off his clothes and slip in.

Maybe it was subconscious. He didn't want to look at his mangled leg as he was supposed to relax. The bubbles hid it so he didn't have to remember.

Sometimes the wheel was too painful. This was how he relaxed, forgot, and soothed his leg. This world had its wonders, this was one of the smaller ones that he enjoyed and swore he would never take it for granted when they went home to their world.

Gods, this was one of the times that he was extremely glad he didn't have Emma or David here….sometimes the silence was nice for relaxing.

He drank a bit of scotch and leaned back against the tub.

Oh gods, he needed this.

The lights went out

Rumpelstiltskin stopped and looked up…and looked around the pitch black bathroom.

Great.

This was the dwarf's fault. He was probably getting revenge on him for not buying that floating raft he called a boat.

How was he supposed to get out of this room?

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Emma looked around the darkened square and scowled, "Awwww!"

Jefferson looked over to where he thought he saw sparks, "Must've blown a transformer."

Emma sighed, "On the night that I have to work and never do work…and now I have to work. Such a bother being the savior."

Jefferson looked at his wife, "You're going to need to get ahold of the electric company."

"Yep," Emma stood up.

"Do you need help?" Jefferson asked, "Emma…"

"No, I can walk to the station," she said, "They have a backup generator there. I'll have light."

"Be careful."

"I will," Emma kissed him, "I'll see you later."

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For a second, Mary thought that she accidently stumbled to the baking booth because of the crowed surrounding the candle booth. There were more people here than there'd ever been…ever. Mary could barely keep up with handing out the candles. They came in waves...almost. Mary barely had time to think.

Another box was empty. Mary moved it and found that…there were no more left.

She looked up at her partner, "Leroy! We sold out!"

A beat passed and he let out an excited cheer. They wrapped their arms around each other in a hug. Both pulled away and his eyes immediately went to the nun talking with some of the others.

Mary nudged him happily, "Well, go on- give her the news…have your moment."

He smiled and grabbed the lockbox. Mary smiled and went to get everything together.

She didn't…need to be so worked up over David Nolan. He didn't make his decision…he tried to play both and refused to choose her. And he refused to stand up for her or whatever when she was shunned. At least Emma threatened to punch people in the face. And no one dared say anything in the presence of Mr. Gold.

But David…the man that once said he only felt something for her never said anything.

That was fine. Maybe she got her hopes up and maybe she made a mistake. She just proved tonight that she could be happy without him and she could make a difference without a man choosing her.

She was going home…she might only have this one candle, but she was going home and she was going to relax.

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Emma kept only the lamp in her office on. It was nice outside, she watched the citizens through the window…their lights moved like fireflies through the night.

Something had happened tonight…Emma wasn't sure but something had happened…she could just feel it.

"Hey," Emma looked up as her husband stood in the doorway. He held the rest of the cake that they'd bought. Emma's stomach growled, "Grace get home okay?"

"Yeah, I stayed with her until….they came."

"David called the station, he said he and Hansel and his family made it home safe."

"Okay, so let's go home."

"We can't." Emma told him, "I gotta stay here in case someone takes advantage of the power outage."

"What?" he asked, "In case people get a sugar high from the baking booth and riot?" he joked. He took off his jacket and tossed it on her chair, "Mind if I lay down on the couch?"

"Go ahead."

Jefferson started to walk towards it, "You can join me."

"Regina has cameras up in here."

"Then she'll get a show."

Emma smiled, "Get some rest."

"You should do the same," he looked over behind him, "if you want the couch…."

"No…," Emma brushed some hair behind her ear, "I'm fine."

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Frederic didn't know why he felt the urge to head to the city border. He just did. He felt just….something. He wouldn't pass the border because he had no need to. But there was a feeling that he couldn't figure out.

It felt like something was wrong.

So he drove. There was really no reason why he should go home anyway. The lights were off…it wasn't like he could play video games for the evening.

He was nearing the border when his headlights caught something. He slowed the car down as he approached it.

An abandoned car.

He pulled over to the side of the road behind it and grabbed his flashlight.

Someone could be hurt.

He moved to the side of the car and looked inside. These turns could be sharp; it was easy to go off the road.

The overhead light was on and that's when he saw it.

The driver's seat was soaked in blood.

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Regina stared at the letter in her hand. It was the letter that Kathryn had written to David Nolan. She'd nearly gotten caught, but everything hinged on no one knowing that Kathryn wanted to leave voluntarily.

She threw it in the fire place next to the bloody clothes and watched it burn.

"Goodbye Kathryn Nolan," she sneered.

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"This is not comfortable."

Jefferson moved one of the cots against the couch so that he and Emma could lie down without being crowded.

Jefferson let Emma have the couch. He took the cot that was rarely used…they usually stuck Leroy in the opposite cell.

Emma cuddled up next to him and ran her hand down his chest, "Just get some sleep."

He rubbed her arm, "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered and kissed him, "Just get some sleep."

And then the phone rang.


	100. Chapter 100

It was pitch black outside, so the closest solution Emma had was to call her father's bodyguard and both of them drove to the abandoned vehicle and lit their headlights so that Emma could see.

Emma pulled on her plastic gloves, "Thanks for coming out here with me, Mr. White."

Mr. White yawned. He was always sort of grumpy when one fed him after ten and since it was Minter's Day and he didn't have to get his hands dirty doing her father's work, he had splurged just like the rest of them. So she was going to be looking forward to a lot of snark tonight, "I don't see why you couldn't just call your deputy out."

Emma was only slightly shorter than her father. And her father literally only came up to Mr. White's shoulder. The man towered over everyone. Width wise, he was like…two of her father. And that wasn't fat, the man was big boned.

But Emma wasn't scared of him. She'd been interacting with him since she was a little girl, "I don't think it'd be wise to involve my deputy in his wife's crime scene. You're my next best bet in case there's a chainsaw wielding psycho in these woods."

"You think he did it."

"No," Emma said and grabbed her kit, "But there are certain protocols I have to follow and you know how the spouse or partner is usually the top suspect. I'll want to eliminate him first."

"Who do you think did it?"

"It's also not wise assumptions because it would be too easy to twist evidence," Emma said and squatted next to the bloodstained seat. She could smell the metallic sickly smell and she felt her stomach roll.

Not morning sickness…not morning sickness….

She stood up and raced across the road. Her red velvet desert flew out of her mouth before she could reach the bush.

"Mrs. March?" he asked in concern.

She held up a finger, "Just a minute."

He gave her a bottle of water. She accepted it, washed her mouth out…several times, and then drank, "Thank you, Mr. White."

"You're welcome, Mrs. March."

Emma put on fresh gloves and went back to the car, "Okay, let's do this."

She collected several samples of blood and she took fingerprints. She took several photos.

"Do you think it might be that stranger?" he asked as Emma took measurements for a tear in the seat, "Someone dies a week after he pulls into town? Emma, we've never had a murder here before and I've lived in this town since before you were born."

"I know," she whispered, "Maybe he did, I'll…definitely add him to the suspect list."

She had plenty of questions for him anyway; this would be a good opportunity. Besides, she couldn't deny Mr. White had an astute point.

But it was Regina. She knew it was. Regina was responsible for this. Emma was to blame for this as well. She had pushed her mom to wake Charming…if she hadn't done that then Regina wouldn't have introduced Kathryn into this….

It made sense. Regina still couldn't go near her family without punching herself in the face. It was hilarious but it hurt her pride and pissed her off. Of course she would automatically go after the first innocent person she COULD hurt.

This was on them. They were just as responsible as Regina was. They should've put in a request to protect the whole town but Rumpelstiltskin only thought about his family...and he wasn't sure that usch a big 'please' would work. Regina had found her way around 'please' deals before. Usually, she did it by sending her minions to harass the family.

Emma opened the trunk and found suitcases and a makeup bag.

"Jackpot," Emma whispered and collected the brush for evidence. They could compare the hairs on there with the blood…they could see if it was Kathryn.

But Emma knew the answer to that already.

"Mr. White…you were in a war, right?"

"Yes."

It wasn't false memories. This man had been in one of the Ogre Wars…both sets of memories had seen horrible horrible things. They couldn't function and had no purpose until they had met Rumpelstiltskin and Mr. Gold respectively and he got help through the trauma of what he'd been through.

Her father used to be a monster…and he had taken lives but he had also saved several. Most had been for his own agenda but…occasionally he would take pity and help someone. But no matter what reasons, he saved them.

Other than her mother…Regina just tried to take the life of whomever she came across.

Emma ripped off her gloves and ran hands through her hair.

This was her fault and this was Regina's

"What can you tell me about," she pointed to the driver's seat, "That."

"Is that why you brought me out here."

"No, there are others I could've brought for that, but if I brought then, they'd freak out that I was handling such a bloody crime scene."

"I'm not sure your gloves will fit me."

"Then don't touch anything."

She moved the evidence to her car and then returned next to Mr. White's side.

"She was stabbed repeatedly," Mr. White said, "The blood spatter and the rip indicate it."

"Yeah," Emma said…, "I guessed that one."

"It was painful…and slow."

"Was?" Emma noted.

"Emma," he looked at her, "Too much blood has been lost. There's no way that she could've survived this."

Emma put her hand over her mouth.

She might be ill again.

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The light was on in the house was on, so Emma shoved her finger against the doorbell as hard as she could.

Regina opened it. She was wearing her grey silk pajamas and held a scotch in her hand.

"Sheriff, if you're here to watch me dance and punch myself in the face over and over again, it doesn't work unless I come to you. Not vice versa."

Emma held her gaze, "What did you do to Kathryn Nolan? Where is she?"

"Has she disappeared?" Regina feigned concern, "That's so unfortunate."

Emma wasn't in the mood to play her game, "Stop it, Regina. I know you did it."

"Are you accusing me without evidence? I could get you in trouble for that."

Emma stopped. She couldn't do that if she didn't have evidence to back up her statement. It would be Emma's word against Regina's. Under normal circumstances, Regina would have some pull but Emma had the Gold name. That itself gave her plenty of power. Just as much as the mayor. They wouldn't just take Regina's work for what happened.

So Regina would need evidence.

She might be recording this.

No, she WOULD be recording this.

"Sheriff, instead of going after your own rivals, I would suggest you actually look at anyone who might want Kathryn gone. This may include Ms. Blanchard, Deputy Nolan, or that stranger that you've let into our…friendly little town."

Emma bit the inside of her cheek and put one foot in front of the other for a more solid stance, "Know this, Madam Mayor. With everything I know you've done, there's only one reason that I haven't let there be charges pressed."

She said '_let there be charges pressed'_ like she would say '_let you die'_ just so that Regina could know that that option had been available to Emma any time she wished.

"Lack of evidence?" Regina mocked.

"Oh, when the time comes…and the time is coming, there will be more than enough testimony and evidence for YOUR crimes, and when that day happens, you will be put on trial. That way Storybrooke as a whole, your followers, and you can look into the eyes of every person you've harmed and know what you've done. And it'll be slow…and it'll be lengthy and you'll want it to be over before the end…but it won't be…because you don't deserve anything faster for what you've done."

"Well, until that day comes, you are trespassing on my private property, _Sheriff_. And you're accusing me of a crime that you have no evidence on. It really should be your fault you know…since you didn't protect her."

Emma could punch her...but when she looked in the corner, she saw a camera.

"Good evening sheriff," Regina sneered, "Tuck that lovely son of yours in for the night, it looks like it's going to be a chilly one."

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Rumpelstiltskin's hip ached. He'd been able to get out of the tub earlier tonight with no problem…but the floor had been wet. He slipped and slammed his bad leg against the sink on the way down.

He wasn't even going to sleep well tonight. The lights came on a while ago but if he stretched his leg out it hurt.

So he settled down for the night in the living room with the book he should've finished earlier today. Time to see how these crazy kids were dealing with the food becoming limited.

Just as he was getting to the climax of the story, he heard someone knocking at the door.

Gods, what now?

He stood and limped to the door. If it was one of those bloody fairies or that bloody dwarf…he was going to sink that silly little boat with all of them in it.

He opened the door and found his daughter on the steps. Her husband stood a few feet away. He looked concerned but Rumpelstiltskin's eyes focused on his daughter. Her eyes were red…as if she'd been crying and was just barely holding it back together.

"Emma?" he asked in concern…he noticed they were missing a very important member of their family, "Where's David?"

"With Hansel."

"Then what's wrong?" he demanded, "What happened?"

"Regina's sunk to some new depths," Jefferson said, "Well…not really, but it's something she hasn't succeeded with in this world yet."

"Dad," Emma sobbed, "I messed up."

She moved to him and he automatically wrapped his arms around his daughter.

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"What do you mean you found her car?" David Nolan demanded.

"We found it on the side of the road," Emma said, "We….we found blood…David. A lot of blood."

He slammed his fists against the table and stood, "Where is she?"

"I don't know."

"Why aren't you looking for her?" he demanded.

"Because it's two in the morning, I can't look for her until its light," Emma said. Her hands shook and she tried to get control of her emotions. She couldn't freak out…she freaked out in front of her husband and dad earlier and now wasn't the time.

She needed to keep her head. She needed to be calm. If she went over emotional then she would be putting more stress on her baby. Her baby shouldn't even be alive right now. Emma had done some research. Dr. Whale thought that somehow they had stopped the miscarriage but that was impossible….the baby should've been lost. The only reason that it was alive…or maybe the only reason they theorized that the baby was alive was because Emma and her magic had protected it somehow….maybe healed it too.

Emma wasn't going to risk it a second time.

David looked like he was going to be sick. He started sobbing. He put his hand over his mouth and started crying.

Emma moved to sit next to him, "David."

"I didn't know she was even going to leave," He said…to no one in particular, "This is my fault."

"No, it's not David."

"If I had…talked to her…if it had been different…if I had known she was leaving, I would've gone with her…I would've helped her move….this wouldn't have happened."

Emma grabbed her biological father's hand, "Or you could've died too."

"We don't know she's dead," he sobbed.

"No," Emma admitted, "But we have to prepare for that chance."

"What if…what if she's not in town anymore?"

"She will be."

"How do you know?"

"We didn't find any tire tracks other than hers," Emma told him, "And there were no tracks that we could see."

"Could she be in the woods?"

Emma closed her eyes and muffled a sob, "I think so, yeah."

"Who?" he demanded, "If it was that stranger-."

"I don't think it was," Emma told him honestly, "But I'll keep an eye on him…"

He looked her; his daughter that he never met. IT didn't hurt so much as it did when Mary looked at her. Probably because Emma never had a mother like she did a father, "What now?"

"In the morning…I'll get teams together…we'll start searching. I sent the evidence to the lab…but it's going to take a while…"

"Emma, I want to be in charge for this one."

"You can't be," she whispered.

"Because I'm a suspect, right?" he asked bitterly.

"Protocol decides that, but I know you're innocent," she assured, "But if I don't do this right then Regina will bring everything down on my head….and I can't afford that right now. The last thing you guys can afford is for me to be either fired or placed on bed rest…and one of her stooges takes my place."

"I would be sheriff."

"Not for this case, you wouldn't be," she told him, "David, we can't trust anyone right now with any information about this case….we can't divulge anything to anyone. Not Mary Margaret…or my dad or my husband or Sidney….especially Sidney…he would interfere with the investigation. We're going to be under a microscope now. We need to do this right. I need to make sure that you'll have my back."

He wiped his tears away; a determined look crossed his eyes, "Just tell me what I need to do."

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Emma stood at the hood with David Nolan and pointed to the map, "Twenty teams of two people in sight of each other at all times."

"That'll take a while, sister," A sober Leroy said. He stood with Mary Margaret. Apparently they became friends yesterday. Emma really regretted that she missed that.

"I'm aware, that's why I appreciate…everyone who's volunteered to help today

"What if she's…," Mary paled, "Killed and buried?"

"Keep your eye out for disturbed earth. If you see anything…radio us before you check it out. Whatever you go to is a potential crime scene and I'd like to keep it intact as much as possible. Remember that we don't have a lot of daylight to do this. Especially in the time it'll take to come back. So…keep your walkies on, keep your eyes open and stay together. Be sure to be careful, move quickly, but not so fast that you might miss something. Now, go ahead and get the sandwiches that Mrs. Lucas was so kind enough to prepare before she volunteered.

Granny and Ruby on a team. Emma couldn't WAIT To hear Jefferson complaining about the bickering since he and David were Team 1 and they were Team 2

David looked at Emma when they all moved away, "What if she's dead?"

"She won't be," Emma promised him, but she wasn't holding out much hope.

"That was her blood in the car; the lab report confirmed it," David looked back down at the map, "What if-?"

"David," Emma said, "We'll find your wife."

Emma was in the middle of answering some questions from the volunteers when Jefferson's car pulled up alongside hers. She glanced at her husband. Oh, it was about time! He was supposed to be David's partner on this. Everyone had rallied against her stumbling around the forest with them due to her pregnancy.

She was only almost six months, she would be fine! This wasn't the most stressful thing this baby had been through. The woods would be way more relaxing compared to what the child had already experienced.

"Honey," Emma greeted. Her husband looked pale and tense. Emma rubbed her swollen belly protectively, "What's wrong."

"We need to talk," Jefferson whispered.

Emma looked at the people waiting, "Can't this wait…we're about get started."

"It can't," he took her hand, "Emma."

"Okay," she looked at her deputy, "Five minutes."

"Emma," David said, "We can't afford to waste daylight. The longer we take, the more the crime scene breaks down."

"Just…," she looked at her husband and then looked at her deputy, "This is important."

She moved off to the side with her husband where no one could see them, "Did you find Kathryn?"

He shook his head, "But there's something you need to know."

"What?"

"I was searching…everywhere in the town that no one's been. Everywhere that most people wouldn't think of. Emma," he told her and he gripped her shoulders, "I didn't find Kathryn, but I found Belle."

**A/N: Well, here we are at 100 Chapters. I…did not expect this to be 100 chapters. But I can give my assurances that it will NOT be 200. I have a rough map drawn out on where this story is going. There is a plan set in place, this story has an ending…I assure you. About half of that epilogue has already been written.**

**As I said, this story was not supposed to be this many chapters. However, I felt that I wanted to take time to explore these character's relationships…and when you're covering a character's entire life…it's going to be awhile. Anyway, the characters relationships…at least in my opinion…are the most important part of that story. Especially Emma's and Rumpelstiltskin's. While I enjoy writing her interactions with her family as a wife and mother, I feel that their relationship is the core of the story. And I hope I've done quite well in showing it to be complex and loving as Rumpelstiltskin wants to be loved but at the same time doesn't believe he can be loved. It's a story about love (and not in the romantic way) of a father and his daughter**

**A lot of things weren't going to happen the way they did. Emma was never originally going to run away until I got talked into it…and I think that really set a dynamic for Rumpel and Emma in their maturing process. David wasn't meant to be born…until the same person talked me into it. And considering Manhattan, I'm really glad she did. And Jefferson was not meant to be featured in this story NEAR as much…but I really enjoyed the idea that someone else could watch over Emma too. And it annoyed Rumpel. Sometimes that's amusing. **

**So, what's in store for next…God knows how many chapters? Well, we will explore Emma's relationship to Charming. Emma's fought so hard against the idea of him being her dad, that it'd be disappointing to let that idea just…flitter away. Because Charming does get the short end of this. Completely. He doesn't get to raise his daughter or see her grow up. And his wife pretty much gave her to their enemy for her best chance. Charming's going to be hurt by that. **

**And I haven't forgotten about Graham…or Bae…Regina won't be getting away with all this for much longer. There won't be any 7****th****, 8****th****, 9****th**** chances like they've given her in the show. She's hurt these characters far too much and it isn't over yet. But don't worry. I have a special ending planned for her **


	101. Chapter 101

**3 Hours Previous**

Jefferson had never told Emma this, but for a while, he had spent time in the mental institution under the hospital. He a month there when they arrived….trapped in a padded room. It hadn't been a good experience. He hadn't known what was happening when he arrived. He didn't know there was supposed to be a curse. So when he awakened in this strange bed…with dueling memories, he'd thought he'd finally gone completely insane. He thought he made up a world where he'd be safe. A land without magic and where he could be with his daughter.

So, he had figured…if this was his made up world, it went by his made up rules and he went to go find Grace.

Except her name was Paige here…and his attempt to take her out of her 'parents' arms landed him in the insane asylum to get 'treated' for a 'breakdown'

And so he was in a cage for a month. Regina stopped in every day to mock him about the loss of his family and she told him what she'd done. And then he was released. After all…what fun was it for her if he couldn't see his daughter every day?

When he got out, Rumpelstiltskin had already gotten his hands on Emma. At first Jefferson didn't think anything of it. The Dark One had a kid? Big deal, he always wanted firstborns. It was probably Regina's twisted idea to give him a kid that would be this age for eternity.

And then, one day he looked through his telescope and saw that Emma was growing and he knew that it wasn't Regina that gave her to Rumpelstiltskin. She was important and the imp was awake.

The rest was history.

But after that, Jefferson didn't go to the hospital. He told Emma it was because he was susceptible to illness, but he couldn't….be near that basement. A month trapped in a small little room with Regina mocking him? He'd been in too many cages and he wasn't looking forward to being near it again.

But Kathryn was missing; a lot of blood was found in the car. Emma was calling together a search party to find her body but Jefferson suspected she might be in town. She'd want the body close so when the time came, she could do whatever she wanted to do to it.

Probably frame Mary Margaret.

So Jefferson searched. He searched the library but found nothing. The lock that Emma put on the elevator was still in place, so he didn't search under it. It was a two man job and he was by himself.

He wasn't sure he could go down there anyway…not after Regina threw his daughter under there with the intention of either killing her or Emma.

Gods.

He searched the abandoned houses but didn't find anything, he looked into the house of Regina's favorites but the results yielded nothing.

The hospital was his last resort…

But he pulled himself together with a stiff drink and a few deep breaths. This was to help his wife. She never asked him to do anything really…and he knew how guilty she felt about how Kathryn Nolan was suffering because Emma wanted to wake Charming. He knew it wasn't her fault, but Emma wouldn't see it that way. She felt that since she was the savior, she was responsible for all the bad as well as the good.

She couldn't save everyone, but that wouldn't stop her from hating the fact that she couldn't. She hated knowing that people could wake up and hope to find their loved ones only never to see them again.

Jefferson was in the hospital for a month, but things hadn't changed that much since then. The nurse was still there, the same one that always worked this shift. He guessed it would make sense if Kathryn's heart was down here. He was certain that Regina had this woman's heart in her vault. He didn't know how to explain it, he just had a feeling.

He had stolen the orderly clothes years ago….one of the times that Emma or David had been hurt, he wasn't sure when. But with a drugged coffee, and dressed as an orderly, he punched I n the code that had never been changed and went downstairs. The musty smell nearly made him turn back but he kept moving forward. Just as long as he put one foot in front of the other…

They couldn't cage him in here again. His wife was the sheriff and his father in law let them live here.

Then why was he shaking?

"You're new," the nurse commented and he handed her the coffee.

"Mayor said you might like that," he said.

The nurse shrugged, took a drink and pointed to his neck, "Who did that?"

Jefferson's fingers went to the scar on his neck and he felt the heat rising to his face. He never let anyone other than his wife see his scar. He barely even let his son see it. He felt completely exposed and vulnerable now, "Psychopath tried to behead me."

The nurse looked shocked and then sympathetic, "How awful! Did they catc-."

Her face slammed against the desk. Gods, he hated drugging people. It took far too long

He grabbed the keys from her desk. He didn't have a lot of time, that would be out of her system in about half an hour.

He went room to room. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

What was the point of having this big of an insane asylum if no one was in it?

Jefferson turned a corner and nearly jumped out of his skin when he bumped into someone else. Another man….one bigger than him with long black hair. He held a mop and bucket.

Jefferson froze…he thought for sure that the alarm would be raised but the man just moved past him and started mopping another part of the hallway.

One of the residents perhaps?

He shoved the master key into the next lock and opened it.

Someone was in the corner.

Jefferson had been hoping to find people…but after ten minutes of searching, he hadn't expected to actually find one. She looked up when the door opened and through the mess of tangled brown hair, he saw her face.

He blinked…he had seen that face before….but where-

Rumpelstiltskin kept a drawn picture on his desk.

Gods, it was Belle? But she was dead!

Belle curled up tighter, "The lady helps me with my shower."

"B-Belle?"

There was no recognition in his eyes.

Gods, she was alive! Rumpelstiltskin's love was alive!

Why had Regina done this?

"I have to-," he cleared his throat as something dawned on him. He couldn't take her out of here, they would accuse him of kidnapping her or something and Regina would do what she could to make their lives even more miserable. And Belle would go back in her box…or killed.

He had to do this right.

"I have to..," he started and then to no one in particular, "I have to find Emma!"

And he practically ran out the door.

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**Present. **

Emma left David in charge of the search party as she and Jefferson immediately headed to Regina's office.

Emma…wasn't sure what to think of what Jefferson told her. It was her first instinct to call her father and tell him. It was her second instinct to go the basement herself and escort Belle out, but both of those situations were just asking for trouble.

No. Emma needed to get control of this NOW. She needed to get that girl out of her prison and she needed to do this as quickly and intelligently as possible. Blood would be shed if she didn't. While Regina's death wouldn't probably make Emma feel all that guilty, she didn't want her six feet under until there was a trial and Kathryn was found.

Not in that order either.

Regina's secretary looked up, "You can't go in there."

"Watch me," Emma said and opened the door. Jefferson trailed behind her.

Regina looked up, "Sheriff…shouldn't you be in charge of a search party combing the woods for our Mrs. Nolan? I would think that our first murder would get your attention."

Jefferson shut the door behind them.

Emma strode forward and slammed her palms on the desk. Regina looked up in bemusement but said nothing.

"We found Belle."

The dread on Regina's face was brief…but…satisfying in its own twisted way. Regina quickly covered it up and looked as unsurprised as she possibly could, "She's alive?"

Emma shook her head and repeated the words her father used to when she was caught saying something she shouldn't, "You are…a dreadful liar."

"I could have killed her," Regina started, "But I didn't."

"Of course you didn't," Emma sneered, 'It's not much fun to torture a body. They start to decay eventually."

Regina rolled her eyes, "I'm guessing you haven't tattled to your daddy yet considering I'm still alive."

"It was tempting," Jefferson said, "Your office is closer than his and we're lazy."

Emma kept her gaze on Regina, "You have one chance. You will tell me where Kathryn Nolan's body is and you will let her go."

"And what's in it for me?" Regina demanded.

"You honor your side of the agreement and I'll do my best to keep my father from killing you."

"Those odds don't sound very favorable."

"More favorable for you than if you don't," Jefferson smirked.

Regina's eyes darkened dangerously but neither one felt scared for their loved ones. They had the upper hand and all three knew it. Any misstep on her part now was definitely going to get her her brains beaten out by Rumpelstiltskin.

Regina once thought that Rumpelstiltskin would do anything for Emma if she just asked. Well, now Regina was certain that she hadn't seen anything yet. Emma wouldn't be denied anything now.

"I can't tell you where Mrs. Nolan is because I don't know," Regina said, "But if you are true to your word, then I can get Belle out."

"No," Emma shook her head, "You will tell us where Mrs. Nolan is."

"I didn't have anything to do with that," Regina protested, "Why Mrs. March, that'd be murder. And you know how it is. It's awful hard to torture the dead."

"I never said she was dead."

"Everyone knows she's dead," Regina sneered, "It's all over town, so don't act like you caught me in anything. You want Belle out? That's the deal. I'll let her go if you can keep your father from killing me."

"Oh no, the deal is for Mrs. Nolan as well."

"And what are you going to do if I don't?" Regina said, desperate to make this to her advantage, "Refuse the deal and keep Belle locked away? Oh, your daddy will LOVE that."

"No," Emma nodded to her husband, "But I'll let him at you…and he's got a score to settle with you over his daughter."

"Go ahead," Regina taunted, "I'm sure I'll be way more talkative when I'm dead on the floor."

Jefferson held her gaze, "Worse things have happened."

Regina picked up her phone, "You get Belle. Take that win, sheriff. You just took a major chess piece of mine."

Emma narrowed her eyes, "I'm not sure how you were expecting to use her and live to walk out of the room."

"We have a deal?" Regina demanded, clearly unwilling to play Emma's game, "Yes or no."

"We do," Emma stood slowly, "But God help you if you did murder that poor woman and didn't take the easy way in telling me where her body is."

"Is that a threat sheriff?"

Emma reached over and under Regina's desk and took out the tape she was using to record the conversation, "Because when I get ahold of you, you'll wish that Jefferson or Rumpelstiltskin had in my place."

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Rumpelstiltskin's ankle was swollen from last night's fall and so he planned to take it easy. He would wait by the phone for Emma or Jefferson to call him and give him progress on the search party.

He really didn't want his daughter, who was almost six months pregnant, in the woods all day but he didn't really have a choice in the matter. She was sheriff and she had a job to do. Gods forbid that David Nolan do it but that might be playing right into Regina's plans.

The door to the front opened. He looked up and smiled as his daughter came in, "What happened? Did you find her?"

"Papa," Emma had a distressed look on her face. That worried him, "Dad…we need to talk."

He closed his book, "Alright."

She folded her hands in front of her mouth and circled around the couch until she was sitting next to him, "There's….been a development and you need to know about it."

Rumpelstiltskin nodded and waited. He really liked it that even though she was married, she still came to him if she needed a new strategy or comfort when she was really upset. They just had that sort of bond, and why shouldn't they? He was her father.

"Um….I don't know how to tell you this…," a tear slipped down her face.

"Take a breath and try," he said with a teasing smile, "Emma, you tell me everything as bluntly as possible. What on earth could-."

"Belle," Emma interrupted him, "Jefferson found her in the basement of the hospital."

A beat passed….and then the emotions slammed into him. Confusion at first…

She was dead.

And then excitement…and hope…and relief.

She was alive. She wasn't hurt. She hadn't killed herself to get away from an abusive father.

Tears sprang to his eyes and ran down his face before he could stop them. He wouldn't insult Emma by asking if this was a joke. She wouldn't joke about that. Belle was alive, she was alive and Jefferson found her.

"She's alive?" he asked meekly. He sounded so quiet…so soft and it sounded so weird

Emma nodded, "I don't know if she has her memory yet but we're getting her out."

And then the anger hit him. He didn't know what expression he had on his face but the moment Emma saw him, the blood drained from her face and she looked utterly terrified, "Dad-."

"Regina," he hissed and stood.

"Dad, you can't."

"Want to lay some money on that, dearie?" he challenged.

"I made a deal with her that I would talk you down."

"You made a deal with her,' He started to the door, "I didn't."

Emma ran and put her back against the door, "If you kill her, then she doesn't let Belle out."

"Oh, she'll let Belle out," he told her, "I guarantee it."

"Dad, don't put me in this position," Emma warned, "You know I'll have to stop you if you go."

He reached out to grab the doorknob. Emma grabbed his hand to keep his hand off it and he ripped it away, "She has made our lives miserable for too long Emma! She's emotionally and mentally attacked every member of our family and now there's a woman possibly dead and another imprisoned! Emma, for 32 years she's been Regina's prisoner! I have stood by and humored your nobility for far too long. I WILL NOT let this stand anymore."

"So, you're going to kill her?"

"The curse breaks and we all win," he sneered, "From my position, that's a good deal. Maybe that'll be what breaks it."

"True love can break a curse," Emma told him, "Not murder."

"Then I suggest you figure out why you can't truly love your bloody family and get this curse broken. Better hurry up dearie. You'll only have a limited time to figure out why it's not working."

"Okay," Emma breathed after a beat, "Let's just calm down."

"Don't you DARE tell me to calm down, she had Belle prisoner for over thirty years."

"And what will she think of you if you kill Regina?"

"She probably won't mind once she's free and awake!"

"I imagine she will, from what you tell me" Emma said, "Dad, I'm already dealing with one murder…don't make it two. Don't make me have to do what I'd have to do to you for killing her. I'm already trying to clean up my mess, I need you and Belle will need you. You won't…get off scott-free for killing Regina because everyone hates her and it broke the curse. They won't honor you for changing. They won't make a holiday for you. You know what you'll prove to them? You'll prove that by murdering her, you still don't think much of human life. They'll be looking for a reason to lock you away again and I won't be able to stop them."

"You don't know that."

"They'll wake up angry and scared and Regina will be dead and they can't take it out on her. Now who's the next best person they'll target? And what will that do to me, Belle, and David? What'll that do to your attempts to change? I'll buy it and I'll vouch for you but they might not believe it. Dad," she reached for him, "Don't throw this away!"

He drew back angrily. She didn't understand. How would she feel if she woke up one day and found that Graham wasn't dead, but was actually alive? Would she stick by this, then? "And so what am I supposed to do? Sit back and keep my hands off her and let her get away with this yet again? She's gotten away with far too much and I'm sick of it. And don't pretend like your idea of giving her a trial will do any good. They'll string her up before that happens and who will you get for an unbiased jury? You're chasing a dream, Emma. And there will be consequences for that."

"There are still good people here."

"No one's as good as that, Emma. Not even you. The only reason you want her to have a trial is because it's the good thing to do, not because you really want to."

"Do you think I want to do this because it's right?" Emma demanded, "The things she's done, I want her dead as much as anyone, but we can't. Because we're better than that. She will stand trial and she will look at the people whose lives she's hurt."

"She doesn't deserve to live. Just the things she's done over here…"

"Maybe, maybe not," Emma said, "But the people she hurt deserve to go through their closure."

He could physically move her. Or he could promise her that he wouldn't do anything and then break that promise…

But if he did that, then he lost her. She'd always made it clear that her battle with Regina was just that. Hers. It wasn't up to him to end it no matter how much he wanted to keep her from suffering."

He couldn't lose her after everything they'd been through

"We'll regret this," he whispered

"No we won't," Emma said, "Because this is best."

"You don't know that."

"You have to let me do this my way," Emma said, "Or it won't work. I'm the one that's supposed to break the curse, not you. Otherwise, things will go wrong and I can't lose you, dad. I can't. Not now…not after everything we've been through. I still need you."

He felt the fight drain out of him and the fury he felt started to lessen when he saw the fear in his daughter's eyes, "Belle is alive."

"Belle is alive," she whispered, "And I'm bringing her home."

Rumpelstiltskin stumbled to his knees.

She was alive and Emma was bringing her to him. She trusted him and he nearly destroyed that trust.

He hung his head in both grief and relief and started sobbing.

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Emma had never seen her father that angry before. The way his face twisted and the fire in his eyes had terrified her in a way his anger never had. Usually she could talk him down but she had been scared that this time she couldn't.

And what really scared her was that she wasn't sure he was wrong.

Emma told herself that Regina had to live past the breaking of the curse. It was the right thing to do. And then she'd make sure that the people who suffered got closure.

Not because she wanted Regina to have a fair trial…but because she didn't want her father to do something that undid everything he worked for…so he didn't lose himself to that darkness. So her mother could look Regina in the eyes and Regina not have the upper hand.

The same went to Grace…

And Jefferson….

She didn't want to keep Regina alive for Regina; she wanted to keep her alive so that everyone could seek justice and closure.

But there was a small part of her that wished they could take the easy way…that they could stop all this suffering, even though she knew she couldn't.

Did that make her a bad person?

Next to her in the sheriff's car, her son stared at her, "So is she….grandma?"

"I wouldn't call her 'grandma'. She and dad never married."

"Do you think they will?" David asked, "When all this blows over?"

Sometimes Emma wasn't entirely sure it ever would, "Maybe."

"It'll be weird," David said, "Won't she be like…your age?"

"David, I'm pretty sure with the exception of the man that raised me, all my parents are my age, so why should a step parent be any different?"

David smiled and grew a bit more serious, "Do you think…Regina really hurt her?"

Emma gripped the wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white. The rage that her father went into was all too fresh on her mind and she wasn't sure she could talk him down again, "I hope for Regina's sake that she didn't."

They were quiet and Emma went back to her thoughts. Her father agreed not to do anything, but what happened if he changed his mind or went behind her back? What happened if he brought Jefferson in on it? Emma wasn't sure where he stood on the entire discussion. He might help her dad.

Emma didn't need to worry about her father. Not with the curse weakening and with the baby and Kathryn's disappearance. She didn't need this.

So she thought of something, "Hey…David…what would you say if we moved back in with dad for a while? "

"Cause of Belle and Kathryn?"

Emma nodded, "And the hospital…I think that a lot of issues would be easier to solve if we lived a bit closer. Of course I have to talk to dad and Jefferson but…"

"I'd love it!" David said.

Emma raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

He nodded, "Sometimes it's nice to live away but it gets lonely."

"Yeah," Emma looked at him as she pulled up to the hospital, "I imagine it does."

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Emma wasn't sure what she expected to see when she went downstairs into the basement with the nurse. she had seen a drawing of Belle, but her father once said he had never captured her beauty…and her innocence and goodness and faith that he could be better…he'd never been able to capture it.

The nurse looked back at Emma, "I think you're making a mistake. This Jane Doe doesn't know who she is…and she gets easily scared and panics. We usually have to sedate her."

"That might be a lot of her problem," Emma muttered.

"Well, I don't know how you did it, but I got her discharge papers in record time," the nurse opened the door.

"Just got to know the right people I guess," Emma looked behind her where her husband watched them from down the hallway. Emma had left him at the hospital to make sure Regina didn't try anything to hurt Belle. He said he couldn't go back downstairs because he'd be recognized…whatever that meant.

The nurse opened the door. Emma watched as the figure hunched against the bed lifted her head and stared at them.

The nurse moved forward, "Today's your lucky day…you're getting discharged."

Belle pressed herself against the corner, "Where?"

"Wherever the sheriff takes you apparently."

Belle's eyes widened and she curled up, "I don't- I don't want to go."

Emma moved to stand next to the nurse and she bent down, "It's okay. You're not in trouble or anything…but you're being discharged."

Belle started crying almost immediately and she scrambled away from them, "I don't…have anywhere to live. I don't want to go."

"I have a place for you to live," she assured her, "You'll be protected and you don't have to worry about being locked up. You're safe."

Belle tilted her head and her sobs started to subside. She stared at Emma's badge and then at her pregnant stomach

Emma helped her up, she felt Belle shaking, "Let's get you home."

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With Jefferson in the back next to David, Emma let Belle sit in the passenger seat next to her. The minute Belle realized that Emma was pregnant, a sheriff, and going to get her out of there, she had seemed to attach herself to Emma.

Emma looked over at the woman, "what's your name?"

Belle furrowed her eyebrows and looked like she was trying to remember…tears sprang to her eyes when she realized she couldn't.

Gods, Regina threw her in a cell for 28 years and kept her in some sort of identity limbo?

"It's okay," Emma assured her, "We can find something else besides Jane Doe to call you until we figure out who you are."

"I like Belle!" David informed them from the backseat.

Emma had been hoping to ease her into that, but not now, "What do you think about Belle?"

Belle shrugged, "It's okay, I guess."

Emma sat that she was staring out the passenger window at the buildings they passed.

"They not let you see this in a while?" Emma asked gently.

She expected Belle to say something along the lines of 'she hadn't seen it in a long time' or 'she hadn't seen it for as long as she could remember' like everyone always did.

But Belle pressed her hands against the glass, "I haven't seen any of this at all."

For some reason, Belle saying that stirred something in Emma and she just stared ahead blankly, "That's unfortunate."

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Rumpelstiltskin was angry…but the wrath and rage had sort of…left him, he supposed.

Now he was nervous. He had had dreams like this before and he always woke up right before he saw her.

So, this might be a dream…but in the other dreams, he never thought it was a dream. Maybe this was real.

Maybe she was still alive.

She'd been Regina's prisoner for over 30 years…

His hand tightened on his cane. He understood that Emma wanted to do the right thing, and he understood why she didn't think it was alright to take a life while enraged…but just didn't think that her idea of what should happen to Regina was right. A trial? Big deal. She wouldn't be angry at that. She wouldn't care that she was looking at these people in the face with no power…she would welcome the trial if the others agreed to it (they wouldn't). It just gave her that much more time to live.

A car passed outside, Rumpelstiltskin's hands started to shake. Any minute now…Emma had texted him to let him know they were about to leave with Belle.

But she didn't do it for Regina. Rumpelstiltskin knew that. He knew that Emma was terrified of him regressing and that's why she fought so hard to keep him from hurting Regina.

He wouldn't regress the moment he ended Regina's life. Maybe in the old world, he'd go more evil than the woman whose life he took…but magic wasn't here yet. His heart wouldn't turn.

Well, it was already black, but Emma seemed to think that she was healing some of those bruises he had there. And usually, he liked to think it as well.

But days like this…he wasn't entirely sure.

Emma didn't want him taking a life, and he certainly didn't want his daughter to murder someone. She'd already lost so much innocence at an early age; he didn't want her to lose another part of herself. And that was a piece one could never get back.

If there was dirty work required, he would sooner do it than make her do it. Whether that was because he wanted her to remain as good as she could be or because he missed the darkness and craved some of it sometimes, he wasn't sure.

Another car drove up to the house….and then stopped.

She was here.

Gods, he couldn't do this.

He took a breath to steady his nerves and he stepped outside and he saw her.

It wasn't a dream. He didn't wake up.

But this wasn't Belle. Her shoulders were slouched and she was hunched over. She looked scared. He imagined he did look intimidating with this large house and him…being him.

He looked into her eyes…there was a lot of fear and confusion there…but if he looked hard enough he saw the innocence and he saw that….goodness there as well. It was just buried under everything else.

Emma led her up the walkway, "Belle…this is my father…this is Mr. Gold. He's going to take care of you."

Rumpelstiltskin and Belle never took their eyes off each other. He felt the love wash over him as he stared at her…it was so overwhelming that it made his chest ache and he couldn't breathe…but at the same time he felt…airy and light. He felt lightheaded.

Emma brought his true love home to him.

She saved Belle.

And then with the love, came confusion. This wasn't Belle and he shouldn't feel these things toward another woman in her body but he did….because there was still enough Belle in there for him to love. He didn't know what her alternate personality was…but one day it'd be Belle.

He reached out and gently grasped her shoulder. She tensed under his touch but didn't pull away

He didn't wake up. It most definitely wasn't a dream.

"You're real," he whispered, "You're alive."

Emma pulled away but he barely paid attention to her.

Belle didn't take her eyes off him, "Do I…do I know you?"

He wanted to wrap his arms around her…he wanted to promise her that he'd protect her and Regina couldn't hurt her anymore.

But she didn't know him. She didn't remember. He didn't want to scare her. He looked into her eyes and didn't see recognition. Gods, this must've been what Emma felt like when she looked at Mary and David Nolan.

His jaw trembled, "Not yet…but you will."

He held his hand out; Belle gave an unsure look to Emma who gave her a nod.

Belle took his hand and he tightened the grip and led her inside.

"Are you hungry?" he asked her.

"A-a little," she whispered and made sure Emma was following them in.

"I'll make you some dinner," he told her and led her to the living room where a single rose sat.

He'd have filled the house with roses for her but the order would've been too big. Maurice couldn't have ordered them fast enough.

Oh yes, Belle's father…he'd feel sorry for the torture he put him through later.

He sort of felt awkward and shy when he extended the rose to her; unsure if there was enough Belle in there to accept it.

The apprehension in her face melted a bit as she accepted the rose. She gave a small smile and smelled it, "Thank you."

He extended his arms and gave a slight bow. Belle gave a shy smile back to him and smelled it again, "No one's ever done this before."

"Everyone's a fool then," he told her gently and looked behind her at his family.

Emma looked touched at her father's attempts to ease this woman's fears and remind her of who he was.

David watched the interactions, completely enraptured.

Jefferson looked like he thought this was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen.

He blushed a bit when he saw they were there and his eyes went back to the woman in front of him, "I'll…show you to your room, and I'll find you some clothes. I'm sure you'll be eager to get out of those rags and into something that makes you feel human."

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Emma sat on the steps outside and stared at her phone.

They'd found nothing where they searched in the woods. They were going to pick up where they left off tomorrow, but that would be Monday and people had to work...which meant she lost most of her teams. Emma would have to pick up the slack by being on one of those teams since she knew the woods so well.

But she'd much rather stay here and watch this…whatever sort of bond it was with her dad and Belle. It wasn't that Kathryn wasn't important. Emma wanted to find her and give her the respect she deserved if she was dead…but saving Belle had made her feel good and she felt like she could do this savior thing. And she hadn't felt like that for a long time.

Besides, watching her dad awkwardly try to flirt while being completely shy and becoming close with Belle while maintaining his distance was far more fascinating to watch. It wouldn't end badly like the Kathryn Nolan search was inevitably going to be.

The door opened and she looked over her shoulder and smiled at her dad, "Where's Belle?"

"Taking a bath, probably for the first time in 28 years," he handed her a cup of cocoa.

"She doesn't smell bad," Emma whispered. She was surprised he left the house with her in it. They had all had a quiet awkward dinner, and her dad never took his eyes off Belle.

Emma wondered how Milah or Cora or anyone else could leave him if he looked at them with half the love he looked at Belle with.

"Well, they only had showers in the asylum," he sat beside her; "Your fearless husband and son go off and get some things packed?"

Emma nodded. She suspected that her father had wanted to be alone with Belle while he tried to get her to remember, but he had jumped at the chance when she had suggested to both him and Jefferson that they could stay. It made sense in Rumpelstiltskin's mind. He wanted his true love and his daughter and grandson and…Jefferson too to bond. While Belle seemed…drawn to Rumpelstiltskin, she felt comfortable with Emma. Emma figured that was to be expected when the only other women she saw was Regina and some of those nurses.

Jefferson wasn't AS thrilled, but he saw the sense in them moving closer temporarily. He had agreed that it was important they be near the hospital since Emma nearly miscarried.

David was quiet throughout most of the dinner. He just…observed. Seeing his grandfather interact with Belle was just about as fascinating for him as it was for Emma.

He and Emma sat together for several seconds in silence. Emma sipped her cocoa and her father looked at her. She finally looked completely at him and saw in his eyes one of those looks that held every emotion and everything he wanted to tell her but couldn't find the words for.

Emma moved closer to her father's side. He moved as soon as she did and wrapped his arms around her Emma clung to him as tightly as she could. Nothing was really said. Nothing was needed to.

Emma felt her father pull back slightly and he stared at her with tear-filled eyes, "I love you."

Emma smiled back, "I love you too."

He looked touched and he gave a gentle smile, "Do you?"

Emma nodded and went to embrace him again.

Regina tried to turn it to her advantage, but they both knew they'd won a major battle today and they saved a woman's life.

Maybe tonight, both could have a peaceful sleep.


End file.
